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THE   DIVINITY  OF 

THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

PROVEN   BY  ARCH/EOLOOY 


A  series  of  papers  formerly  published 
in  the  "Arena"  Department  of  the 
Autumn  Leaves,         jl         Jt         J* 


BY   LOUISE   PALFREY 


PUBLISHED   BY  ZION'S   RELIGIOLITERARY   SOCIEH 

AT  THE  HERALD   PUBLISHING  HOUSE 

LAMONl,  IOWA 


i   II>IW\InV 


PREFACE. 


In  submitting  this  little  volume  to  the  public,  it  is  not  so  much 
with  the  thought  of  presenting  new  discoveries  and  new  theories, 
as  it  is  that  we  may  take  the  discoveries  already  made,  and 
theories  already  formed,  and  bring  them  together  into  one 
volume  in  convenient  form  for  the  use  of  the  increasing  number 
of  students  of  this  interesting  subject  of  ever  growing  impor- 
tance. 

These  papers  were  originally  prepared  to  be  used  as  required 
readings  in  connection  with  the  study  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  in 
Religio  locals  and  were  published  serially  in  the  "Arena" 
department  of  Autumn  Leaves.  They  are  the  result  of  a  num- 
ber of  years  of  careful  study  and  research  of  the  best  authors 
and  writers  of  American  Archaeology,  many  of  whose  works  are 
now  out  of  print,  and  hence  out  of  reach  of  a  large  part  of 
would-be  students.  The  author  of  this  volume  has  collected  the 
best  from  such  sources  and  made  application  of  the  same  in 
proof  of  the  divinity  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  in  such  manner  as 
to  make  it  a  hand-book  of  ready  reference  upon  this  subject. 

It  is  confidently  believed  that  The  Divinity  of  the  Book  of  Mormon 
Proven  by  Archaeology  will  prove  a  source  of  pleasure,  as  well  as  a 
means  of  great  helpfulness,  to  the  Religians  and  all  investiga- 
tors of  American  Antiquities  as  related  to  the  latter-day  work. 

Grateful  acknowledgment  is  here  made  to  the  author,  Sister 
Louise  Palfrey,  for  the  gift  of  the  fruit  of  her  labor,  and  to  all 
others  who  have  rendered  assistance  in  other  ways. 

The  Publishers. 


I     ?!    /' 


INTRODUCTION. 

FIRST    PAPER. 
WHAT   CIVILIZATION  IS. 

In  our  effort  to  ascertain  if  civilization  existed  on 
the  American  continent  previously  to  the  civilization 
introduced  since  the  discovery,  we  will  remeqaber 
that  centuries  have  elapsed  with  their  destructive 
forces,  and  expect  that  the  evidences  left  us  by  which 
we  are  to  judge  are  very  scarce.  It  is  necessary  that 
we  understand  what  civilization  is,  what  the  signs  are 
that  betoken  it,  that  we  may  perceive  the  significance 
in  the  traces  of  an  ancient  people,  and  gain  from 
their  mute  testimony  some  idea  of  the  degree  of 
advancement  to  which  the  people  rose.  We  must 
know  the  limitations  of  the  savage  before  we  are  able 
to  appreciate  the  work  that  bespeaks  the  civilized 
man. 

The  savage  has  few  wants  beyond  the  animal.  His 
aspirations  do  not  go  higher  than  to  desire  good 
hunting-grounds  and  well -watered  forests  where 
nature  will  spontaneously  furnish  him  enough  to 
appease  his  appetite.  If  he  finds  enough  to  eat  and 
drink  he  is  happy.  He  lives  principally  upon  what 
wild  nature  produces  without  any  effort  of  his  own. 
The  savage  is  an  idler.  He  does  not  cultivate  or 
develop.  The  resources  of  nature  are  wasted  with 
him.  Sealed  are  the  possibilities  of  existence  to  him. 
He  does  not  spin  or  weave;  he  does  not  till  the  soil, 
work  the  mines,   quarry  the  rock,   or  convert  the 


6  BOOK   OF    MORMON     . 

forest  trees  into  building  material.  Hence,  we  find 
after  the  savage,  no  ruins  of  buildings ;  no  relics  of 
manufactories ;  no  traces  of  orchards  and  mines ;  no 
evidence  of  art,  science,  or  culture;  no  signs  of 
books,  schools,  or  churches.  God  created  man,  gave 
him  dominion  over  the  earth,  and  told  him  to  subdue 
it.  The  savage  does  not  do  this.  He  is  at  the  mercy 
of  the  forces  around  him.  He  does  not  know  how  to 
become  master  of  the  situation  and  overcome  the 
difficulties  he  meets.  As  has  been  said,  he  is  a 
"pitiable  creature"  indeed.  **He  is  exposed  unpro- 
tected to  the  blasts  of  winter  and  the  heats  of  sum- 
mer. A  great  terror  sits  upon  his  soul;  for  every 
manifestation  of  nature — the  storm,  the  wind,  the 
thunder,  the  lightning,  the  cold,  the  heat — all  are 
threatening  and  dangerous  demons.  The  seasons 
bring  him  neither  seed-time  nor  harvest.  .  .  .  He  is 
powerless  and  miserable  in  the  midst  of  plenty." 

Leaving  savagery,  there  are  degrees  of  civilization. 
Man's  first  attention  is  necessarily  directed  to  over- 
coming the  wilderness,  converting  the  forest  into 
homes,  and  procuring  the  material  comforts  of  life. 
**Every  step  towards  civilization  is  a  step  of  conquest 
over  nature."  As  man  advances  in  the  scale  of 
ciyiHzation  his  wants  increase;  his  longings  reach 
out  and  above  material  needs.  The  common  indus- 
tries of  fife  are  elevated  from  mere  drudgery  to 
science.  In  agriculture,  for  instance,  the  quality  of 
the  soil  is  studied,  and  how  to  improve  it,  what 
grow  in  it,  how  to  get  the  best  results  from  it.  If  the 
natural  water-supply  be  insufficient,  irrigation  turns 
vast  acres  into  fruitful  fields. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  7 

The  material  needs  supplied,  the  higher  instincts  of 
man  assert  themselves.  He  begins  to  cultivate  the 
beautiful.  He  is  no  longer  satisfied  with  a  home  that 
will  protect  him  from  the  weather  and  afford  him  bare 
comfort.  He  wants  a  home  fair  for  the  eye  to  look 
upon,  and  architecture,  carving,  and  painting  blossom 
into  life.  There  comes  the  desire  for  greater  knowl- 
edge, to  know  what  is  in  the  heavens  above  and  the 
earth  beneath ;  to  know  what  other  men  think  about 
the  problems  of  Hfe;  to  know  how  other  men  feel, 
and  what  their  experiences  are.  Schools  are  bom, 
philosophy  is  delved  into,  astronomy  is  developed, 
books  are  written.  "The  thoughts  travel  into  a 
nobler  region  than  that  of  the  senses;  and  the  appli- 
ances of  art  are  made  to  minister  to  the  demands  of 
an  elegant  taste  and  a  higher  moral  culture." 

Civilization  reaches  its  higher  degrees  when 
humanity,  the  sense  of  brotherhood,  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  welfare  and  elevation  of  the  fellow 
creature  is  felt,  and  laws,  systems,  institutions,  and 
means  are  devised  of  protecting,  enlightening,  and 
making  man  happy.  Superstition  fades  before  the 
permeating  light  of  higher  reason  and  truer  faith. 
Idol -worship  and  the  multifarious  gods  of  mytholog- 
ical traditions  are  supplanted  by  monotheism,  belief 
in  the  one  true  God,  creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  who 
rewards  the  good  and  punishes  the  wicked.  Egypt, 
Greece,  and  Rome  were  the  most  highly  civilized 
nations  of  historic  antiquity;  but  how  far  short  they 
fell  we  may  judge  when  we  learn  that  even  the  Greeks 
and  the  Romans  had  no  conception  of  that  which  we 
call  sin.     Geikie  says:     "To   the   Greeks  the  word 


8  BOOK  OP   MORMON 

'humanity,*  as  a  term  for  the  wide  brotherhood  of 
all  races,  was  unknown."  In  considering  the  forces 
that  mould  civilization,  it  is  impossible  to  pursue  the 
inquiry  independently  of  the  effect  that  religion  has 
upon  it,  or  without  investigating  the  quality  of  the  reli- 
gion, so  close  is  the  relationship  between  man's  works 
and  his  motives  and  ideals.  Guizot  deiSnes  civilization 
to  be  **the  development  of  human  society  and  that  of 
man,  himself;  on  one  hand,  political  and  social 
development;  on  the  other,  internal  and  moral 
development."  The  religion  of  a  nation  has  ever 
been  the  test  of  the  genius  of  its  civilization.  We 
find,  in  the  course  of  history,  that  the  refinement  of 
man's  nature  has  been  in  proportion  as  his  religious 
ideas  were  spiritual  and  based  upon  truth,  while  the 
heights  to  which  nations  have  risen  compare  as  the 
degrees  to  which  they  approached  Christian  concep- 
tions in  their  ethics  and  practice. 

ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

Did  civilization  exist  on  this  continent  in  ancient 
times?  To  those  who  have  informed  themselves  of 
the  results  of  research  and  discovery  of  later  years, 
this  question  will  seem  very  behind  the  times.  Nev- 
ertheless, the  reading  public,  generally,  is  woefully 
ignorant  on  the  subject;  and  many  of  the  makers  of 
books,  even  so  pretentious  as  professing  historians, 
are  not  likely  to  enlighten  the  public  by  their  inade- 
quate or  unreliable  works.  The  higher  authorities, 
however,  such  historians,  for  instance,  as  Bancroft 
and  Prescott;  such  archaeologists  as  Baldwin  and 
Short;    such  travelers    and   explorers   as    Charnay, 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  9 

Stephens,  or  Squier  declare  that  there  did  exist  a 
civilization  here  long  before  Columbus  opened  the 
gate  of  the  Western  World  to  the  importation  of 
European  culture.  As  to  how  high  that  ancient 
civilization  attained,  authorities  differ.  They  have 
no  guide  to  show  them  beyond  the  relics  and  ruins 
they  have  found.  Eastern  civilization  of  prehistoric 
times  would  be  as  undeterminable  to-day  were  the 
facts  dependent,  only,  on  such  evidences  as  anti- 
quarians have  been  able  to  find. 

The  following  is  from  an  eassay  in  a  current 
periodical :  *'In  the  first  quarter  of  this  century  there 
were  writers  who  did  not  hesitate  to  boldly  deny  the 
authenticity  of  the  biblical  account  of  the  origin  of 
Babylon,  and  to  declare  that  it  was  impossible  such 
a  city  should  have  existed  in  very  ancient  times, 
from  the  fact  that  it  had  passed  so  completely  out  of 
mind  that  no  one  could  positively  assert  where  it 
stood.  Nineveh  was  only  a  name;  even  the  site  of 
the  city  was  in  dispute;  there  were  writers  who 
claimed  that  the  name  was  only  another  designation 
of  Babylon."  "  Then  the  essay  goes  on  to  state  that 
"not  until  excavations  had  been  made  in  the  great 
mound  of  Nimrod  was  it  plain  that  one  of  the  earliest 
centers  of  population  had  been  discovered;"  and 
later  discoveries  have  revealed  the  fact  of  a  conquer- 
ing nation  and  two  cities,  which  are  recognized  in  the 
Old  Testament  history,  and  thereby  identified.  Sup- 
pose, on  the  other  hand,  these  discoveries  being 
made,  there  were  no  Bible  to  throw  Hght  on  them, 
how  much  would  science  have  ventured  to  conclude 
about  the  history  and  civilization  of  those  ancient 


10  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

people?  How  should  we  have  known  what  cities 
those  ruins  were  the  remains  of ;  and  while  certain 
symbols  indicated  a  conquering  nation,  what  should 
we  know  about  the  circumstances  of  that  ancient 
conquest?  There  are  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  nation, 
of  ancient  cities — that  is  all  we  should  know  about  it. 
"The  most  valuable  discoveries  in  antiquity  must 
appeal  to  the  Bible  for  interpretation,"  says  Dr. 
Mcllvaine.  * 

When  we  come  to  the  remote  past  of  this  "Western 
World,  without  an  inspired  guide-book,  we  are  in 
exactly  the  same  position  as  we  should  be  concerning 
the  dim  morning  of  the  Eastern  World  were  it  not  for 
the  Bible.  We  could  only  gaze  upon  the  wonderful 
ruins  that  have  been  found  upon  this  continent,  and 
wonder.  The  world  believes  that  the  ancient  history 
of  America  is  in  this  situation ;  that  there  is  nothing 
to  throw  any  Hght  upon  its  pages  beyond  the  remains, 
themselves.  The  writer  whom  we  have  before  quoted 
expresses  the  general  idea  when  he  says:  ** Just  as 
we  now  wander  among  the  mysterious  remains  of  the 
race  which  once  possessed  all  this  land,  and  pausing 
beneath  some  lofty  mound,  crested  with  sturdy  oaks, 
which  have  stood  for  centuries  and  are  now  nourished 
with  the  decayed  materials  of  a  former  generation; 
or,  measuring  the  exact  angles  and  regular  outlines 
of  some  vast  system  of  warlike  defense,  for  which 
the  traditions  of  no  race  now  known  among  us  have 
the  least  explanation,  are  deeply  impressed  with  the 
evidence  that  we  are  constantly  walking  over  the 

*  See  Preface  to  Delafield's  "Antiquities  of  America." 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  11 

graves  of  an  immense  population,  and  pained  with  a 
sense  of  utter  darkness,  as  to  everything  connected 
with  them,  except  that  they  bequeathed  to  posterity 
those  existing  and  confounding  traces  of  their  exist- 
ence ;  so  precisely  should  we  be  situated,  with  regard 
to  all  the  human  race,  and  all  the  mightiest  changes 
in  the  surface  of  the  globe,  were  we  .  .  .  destitute 
of  all  that  history  for  which  we  are  exclusively 
indebted  to  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures."^ 

WhUe  the  Bible  has  done  such  service  for  the 
science  of  antiquity  on  the  one  hand,  on  the  other 
hand  the  ruins  and  relics  of  antiquity  have  rendered 
great  service  to  the  Bible,  in  return,  by  removing 
doubt  concerning  its  truthfulness,  and  disarming  the 
skeptic  and  critic  of  their  weapons  against  it.  To 
quote  Dr.  Mcllvaine  again:  "But  exceedingly  insig- 
nificant as  are  all  resources  for  the  earhest  history  of 
the  world  independently  of  the  Bible,  they  may  be 
of  great  consequence  in  connection  with  the  Bible. 
They  may  add  no  facts  to  what  it  contains;  but 
they  may  contradict  or  confirm  what  it  contains.  A 
single  line  of  inscription  upon  a  Theban  tomb;  a 
bone  dug  from  the  depths  of  the  earth ;  a  stratum  of 
rock,  or  rubbish,  discovered  in  the  interior  of  a 
mountain,  may  add  very  little  to  our  knowledge  of 
facts,  illustrating  the  history  of  the  globe;  but  it  will 
become  of  great  importance,  if  it  conflict,  or  harmo- 
nize, with  any  statements  which  Moses,  professing  to 
write  under  divine  inspiration  has  recorded."^ 

If  a  book  were  presented  to  us  claiming  to  be  an 

*  See  Preface  to  Delafield's  "Antiquities  of  America." 


12  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

inspired  record  of  the  ancient  people  of  America, 
might  it  not  be  subjected  to  the  same  test  as  the 
Bible,  and  would  not  the  results  of  investigation  be 
entitled  to  the  same  rights,  i,  e.,  to  speak  for  or 
against  the  book,  whether  it  were  true,  or  false, 
according  as  they  verified  or  contradicted  its  asser- 
tions? We  have  such  a  book  in  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, and  it  will  be  our  endeavor,  in  this  series  of 
papers,  to  help  our  young  readers  and  students  to  an 
acquaintance  with  the  discoveries  that  explorers 
have  made  in  America,  and  the  facts  that  scholars 
have  gained  by  delving  into  the  traditions  and 
records  of  the  native  races.  We  live  in  a  day  more 
eminently  scientific  than  any  period  of  the  world's 
history  before,  and  it  is  not  enough  that  we  have 
faith  and  convictions,  if  we  would  be  as  useful  as  we 
might  be.  There  never  was  a  time  when  it  was  so 
necessary  to  be  broadly  versed,  and  able,  on  every 
side,  to  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  we  have.  It  is 
also  a  day  of  many  and  varied  ideas  and  opinions, 
and  we  need  to  know  facts  for  ourselves,  and  not  be 
dependent  upon  others'  version  or  interpretation  of 
them.  While  we  shall,  in  these  papers,  that  we  may 
be  more  fully  posted,  notice  the  theories  of  scientific 
men,  occasionally,  it  is  our  purpose  to  direct  atten- 
tion chiefly  to  the  original  material.  We  desire  to 
learn,  rather,  what  science  has  found,  than  what 
scientific  speculation  thinks  about  its  findings;  to 
be  independent  in  our  investigations;  to  compare, 
weigh,  and  measure  for  ourselves  the  significance  of 
archaeological  evidences  that  have  accumulated.  It 
is  not  presumed  to  make  this  series  an  exhaustive 


AND  ARCILEOLOGY.  13 

review  or  treatise,  at  all.  It  is  only  hoped  that  it 
may  stimulate  in  our  young  people  interest  in  the 
scientific  relations  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  serve 
as  an  introduction  to  the  archseological  phases  of 
study  in  connection  with  this  record.  To  present, 
in  systematic  manner,  general  information  on  this 
line  for  the  general  reader ;  to  cause  closer  attention 
to  be  given  to  discoveries  that  are  being  made  right 
along  in  American  antiquities;  to  make  such  devel- 
opments appear  in  more  intelligent  and  useful  light, 
sums  up  the  aim  of  these  papers. 


SECOND    PAPER. 

DATE    OF    ARCH^OLOGICAL    KNOWLEDGE    OF   THE 
ANCIENT    CIVILIZATION    OF    AMERICA. 

All  that  we  have  learned  of  the  remote  past  of  this 
continent  has  come  to  light  in  comparatively  recent 
times.  **One  hundred  years  ago,'*  says  Donnelly, 
"the  world  knew  nothing  ...  of  the  marvelous  civ- 
ilization revealed  in  the  remains  of  Yucatan,  Mexico, 
and  Peru."  ^  *'The  publication  of  the  valuable  works 
of  Squier  and  Davis,"  says  Mr.  Short,  and  '*of  Dr. 
Lapham  and  those  of  Mr.  Squier  alone,  in  which  the 
remains  of  those  regions  are  described,  was  like  a 
revelation  which  brought  to  light  the  wonders  of  ar 
entombed  civilization."  *  How  recently  this  informa- 
tion has  been  given  to  the  world  the  reader  must 
know.  All  these  works  have  come  to  the  public  since 
1830. 

Europeans  used  to  say,  with  a  superior  air,  that 
America  had  no  past.  The  Indian  warriors  of  our 
forests  excited  some  curiosity,  as  to  who  they  were, 
and  whence  they  came;  but  being  unable  to  solve  the 
problem,  it  was  either  put  down  as  an  impenetrable 
mystery,  or  the  Indians  were  believed  to  be  merely 
natives  of  the  country.  The  stimulated  activity  in 
scientific  investigation  in  the  latter  part  of  the  cen> 
tury  just  passed  revealed  important  discoveries  in 
many  parts  of  the  world,  and  as  for  America,  has 

•Atlantis,  p.  480. 

•North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp,  27,  28. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  15 

proven  that  it  has  a  history  that  even  vies  with  the 
antiquity  of  the  hoary  nations  of  the  East.  The  fame 
and  possibilities  of  American  antiquities  have  spread 
among  the  scholars  of  the  world,  and  European  scien- 
tific societies  send  delegates  to  explore  our  forests. 

REGIONS  EXPLORED  AND  REGIONS  UNEXPLORED. 

But  notwithstanding  so  much  has  come  to  light, 
there  are  still  wide  fields  for  the  work  of  exploration. 
Speaking  of  the  great  sections  in  which  are  Icrcated 
important  remains  of  the  ancient  civilization,  Baldwin 
says:  "These  regions  have  all  been  explored  to 
some  extent,"  but  "not  completely."^  He  further 
says:  "To  understand  the  situation  and  historic 
significance  of  the  more  important  antiquities  in 
Southern  Mexico  and  Central  America,  we  must  keep 
in  view  their  situation  relative  to  the  great  unex- 
plored forests  to  which  attention  has  been  called. 
Examine  carefully  any  good  map  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  and  consider  well  that  the  ruins 
already  explored  or  visited  are  wholly  in  the  northern 
half  of  Yucatan,  or  far  away  from  this  region,  at  the 
south,  beyond  the  great  wilderness,  or  in  the  south- 
ern edge  of  it."*  "To  understand  the  situation  of 
most  of  the  old  ruins  in  Central  America,  one  must 
know  something  of  the  wild  condition  of  the  country. 
Mr.  Squier  says :  *By  far  the  greater  proportion 
the  country  is  in  its  primeval  state,  and  coverec  Nvith 
dense,  tangled,  and  almost  impenetrable  forests,  ren- 


•  Ancient  America,  p.  14* 

*  Ibid.,  p.  103. 


16  BOOK  OP   MORMON 

dering  fruitless  all  attempts  at  systematic  investiga- 
tion. There  are  vast  tracts  untrodden  by  human 
feet,  or  traversed  only  by  Indians  who  have  a 
superstitious  reverence  for  the  moss -covered  and 
crumbling  monuments  hidden  in  the  depths  of  the 
wilderness.  .  .  .  For  these,  and  other  reasons,  it  will 
be  long  before  the  treasures  of  the  past,  in  Central 
America,  can  become  fully  known.'  "  ^  Even  in  the 
region  of  Lake  Titicaca,  in  South  America,  generality 
recognized  to  be  the  starting  point  of  the  ancient  civ- 
ilization of  that  continent,  it  is  said,  '*The  antiquities 
on  the  islands  and  shores  of  this  lake  need  to  be  more 
completely  explored  and  described."' 

Since  the  writers  quoted  made  these  statements, 
there  have  been  practically  no  new  fields  opened,  so 
that  the  territorial  range  of  our  knowledge  is  not 
more  extended.  True,  discoveries  are  being  made 
right  along,  but  they  are  mostly  in  the  same  regions 
traversed  by  the  famous  travelers  and  explorers 
mentioned.  A  map  of  North  and  South  America, 
made  for  the  purpose,  shows  large  patches  of  solid 
black,  indicating  regions  that  have  not  yet  been 
explored,  and  even  in  the  vicinities  believed  to  be 
centers  of  the  ancient  civilization,  unexplored  parts 
are  marked.  It  was  remarked  by  a  writer,  recently, 
in  one  of  the  current  periodicals  of  the  day:  **It  is  a 
singular  fact  that,  in  spite  of  the  diligence  of  explor- 
ers, large  tracts  of  the  earth's  surface  are  quite 
unknown  to  the    civilized   world.    •    •    •    In   South 


■Ibid.,  p.  94. 
•Ibid.,  p.  231. 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  17 

America  the  head  waters  of  the  Orinoco,  the  fabled 
home  of  El  Dorado,  are  as  mysterious  now  as  when 
the  Spaniards  first  heard  the  tradition  of  the  *  Gilded 
Man.'  "  The  same  writer  goes  on  to  state  that  there 
is  a  great  territory  to  the  north  of  Hudson's  Bay,  on 
our  own  continent  of  North  America,  concerning 
which  nothing  is  known,  and  that  the  western  and 
southern  shores  are  none  too  well  known,  for  the 
snows  of  winter,  the  dense  forests,  undergrowth  and 
marshes  of  summer,  have  thus  far  baffled  all  attempts 
at  exploration.  Henry  M.  Stanley  marks  it  out  as  a 
task  for  the  twentieth  century  to  unlock  the  secrets 
of  the  world's  unexplored  regions,  and  what  revela- 
tions may  not  America  yet  reveal? 

EXTENT  OF  THE  ANCIENT   CIVILIZATION  AND   CHAR- 
ACTER OP  THE  REMAINS. 

Civilization  thrived  in  both  North  and  South 
America  in  ancient  times.  In  South  America,  so  far 
as  exploration  has  gone,  remains  are  found  on  the 
west  side,  reaching  from  Chili  northward  to  the  first 
and  second  degrees  of  latitude.  In  North  America 
ruins  are  scattered  over  all  Central  America,  Mexico, 
and  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  Valleys.*^ 

All  authorities  agree  that  these  ancient  people  were 
very  numerous.  Short  says:  **It  is  a  question 
whether  the  antiquarian  is  more  surprised  at  the 
greatness  of  their  number  than  in  many  instances 
at  the  immensity   of    their  proportion."®     Charnay 


^  Ancient  American,  p.  14. 

»  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  27. 


18  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

quotes  that  in  Mexico  and  Central  America  **the 
population  was  so  dense  as  to  cause  the  soil  to 
be  cultivated  on  the  highest  mountains."^  Often,  as 
he  goes  along,  describing  the  ruins  he  found  on  his 
trip  of  exploration,  Charnay  pauses  to  comment  that 
the  population  must  have  been  **dense,"  or  to  quote 
from  other  writers,  * 'There  is  no  doubt  that  this 
region  has  been  inhabited  by  a  cultured  and  mighty 
nation." ^  ^  In  South  America  it  was  the  same.  There 
are  **not  half  as  many  people  now,'*  says  Baldwin,  in 
the  region  comprising  Peru,  as  there  was  in  the  time 
of  the  Incas,^^  while  in  the  territory  of  tlie  United 
States,  "The  entire  valley  region  of  the  Missouri, 
Mississippi,  and  Ohio  Rivers,  with  that  of  their 
affluents,  was  occupied  by  this  remarkable  people- 
presenting  us  with  a  parallel  to  the  ancient  civiliza- 
tion which  flourished  in  the  earliest  times  on  the 
watercourses  of  the  Old  World." ^^ 

In  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  South  America 
the  remains  are  represented  by  ruins  of  buildings, 
temples,  and  cities;  but  in  the  Ur-ited  States,  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  no  ruins 
of  buildings  are  found.  The  remains  that  represent 
the  ancients  in  the  valleys  mentioned  of  the  United 
States  are  elevated  earthworks,  of  varying  shapes 
and  sizes — '*mounds,"  they  are  commonly  called. 
Not  having  any  clew  as  to  who  the  ancient  builders 
were,  the  historian  of  to-day  calls  them  * 'Mound - 


•Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  £ 
10  Ibid.,  pp.  206,  221,  and  other  places. 
*'  Ancient  America,  p.  276. 
12  North  Americans  of  Antiqity,  p.  27. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  19 

builders,"  after  the  mounds  they  left.  In  the 
northern  part  of  the  republic  of  Mexico;  in  our 
territories  of  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  the  States 
of  Colorado  and  Utah,  **ruins  of  great  buildings"  are 
found,  but  of  a  style  of  architecture  different  from 
the  other  regions  mentioned,  and  very  peculiar  in 
themselves.  The  ruins  are  now  inhabited  by  Indians 
called  Village  Indians,  or  Pueblos,  sometimes  called 
'*  Cliff -dwellers,"  the  term  being  descriptive  of  the 
strange  edifices  inhabited  by  these  people,  but  which 
were  built  by  a  people  before  them.  The  grandest 
ruins  are  found  at  the  south,  in  Mexico,  and,  more 
especially,  in  Central  America,  also  in  the  previously 
mentioned  region  of  South  America. 

WHO   WERE  THE  ANCIENTS   OP  AMERICA? 

"Who  were  those  ancient  people — ^were  they  ances- 
tors of  the  wild  Indian,  do  archaeologists  say?  It  is  a 
profound  mystery  to  the  science  of  the  world,  but 
leading  authorities  do  not  believe  that  those  ancient 
people  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Indian  tribes  of 
to-day.  Baldwin  says,  "There  is  no  trace  or  proba- 
bility of  any  direct  relationship."^^ 

"No  savage  tribe  found  here  by  Europeans  could 
have  undertaken  such  constructions."  "To  make 
such  works  possible  under  any  circumstances  there 
must  be  settled  life,  with  its  accumulations  and 
intelligently  organized  industry.  Fixed  habits  of 
useful  work,  directed  by  intelligence,  are  what  bar- 
barous tribes  lack  most  of  all."     "These  barbarous 

*•  Ancient  America,  p.  60. 


20  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

Indians  gave  no  sign  of  being  capable  of  the  system- 
atic application  to  useful  industry  which  promotes 
intelUgence,  elevates  the  conditions  of  life,  accumu- 
lates wealth,  and  undertakes  great  works." ^* 

Professor  Baldwin  further  says:  ''Some  inquirers, 
not  always  without  hesitation,  suggest  that  the 
Indians  inhabiting  the  United  States  two  hundred 
years  ago  were  degenerate  descendants  of  the 
Mound -builders.  The  history  of  the  world  shows 
that  civiHzed  communities  may  lose  their  enlighten- 
ment, and  sink  to  a  condition  of  barbarism;  but  the 
degraded  descendants  of  civilized  people  usually 
retain  traditional  recollections  of  their  ancsstors,  or 
some  traces  of  the  lost  civilization,  perceptible  in 
their  customs  and  legendary  lore.  The  barbarism 
of  the  wild  Indians  of  North  America  had  nothing 
of  the  kind.  It  was  original  barbarism.  There  was 
nothing  to  indicate  that  either  the  Indians  inhabiting 
our  part  of  the  continent,  or  their  ancestors  near  or 
remote,  had  ever  been  ci-vilized,  even  to  the  extent  of 
becoming  capable  of  seir^led  life  and  organized  indus- 
try."i« 

Short,  also,  declares  that  the  ancient  civilized  peo- 
ple of  America  could  not  have  been  ancestors  of  the 
wild  Indian.  "Only  under  the  fostering  care  of  the 
white  man  has  he  shown  any  improvement,  and  thai- 
has  been  of  such  an  uncertain  character  as  to  amount 
to  proof  of  his  incapability  for  self -civilization."^* 


1*  Ibid.,  pp.  33, 34. 
"Ibid,  pp.58,  59. 
*«Nortli  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  22. 


THIRD  PAPER. 
THE   CHICHIMECS. 

In  our  reading  concerning  the  ancient  history  of 
America,  we  find  frequent  mention  of  a  race  called 
Chichimecs.  The  people  that  have  inhabited  America 
previously  to  our  era  are  divided  into  three  classes; 
viz.,  the  civilized,  the  semi- civilized,  and  the  savage. 
The  civihzed  class  belonged  to  the  oldest  period. 
The  period  of  the  semi- civilized  nations  followed. 
They  were  flourishing  in  Mexico,  Central  America, 
and  South  America  when  Columbus  discovered  this 
land.  Our  modern  historians  call  those  nations — of 
Mexico,  the  Aztecs,  and  the  people  immediately 
before  them,  the  Toltecs;  of  Central  America,  the 
Mayas,  and  of  South  America,  the  Incas,  or  Peru- 
vians. 

The  Chichimecs  belonged  to  the  savage  class,  or 
the  wild  Indian.  "We  recognize  them  as  no  other  than 
the  Indian  we  know ;  the  Indian  whom  the  discoverers 
found  wandering  through  our  forests.  They  were 
scattered  out  in  the  country  around  the  semi -civilized 
nations  of  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  Peru.  The 
traditions  of  these  nations  show  that  the  Chichimecs 
lived  and  were  the  tormentors  of  the  civilized  nations 
as  far  back  as  the  traditions  go. 

Baldwin  says:  "This  term  Chichimecs  appears  to 
have  been  the  generic  appellation  for  all  uncivilized 
aborigines."*     They  are  spoken  of  as  a  numerous 

»  Ancient  America,  p.  198. 


22  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

and  powerful  people,  and  always  as  fierce  and 
savage.  Bancroft  tells  us  that  they  were  mostly 
"dependent  on  the  chase  for  their  subsistence."^ 

Baldwin  was  quoted  in  a  former  paper  as  saying 
that  the  Indians  are  ''original  barbarians."  The 
Toltec  traditions  spoke  of  the  Chichimecs  as  being 
their  neighbors  from  their  earliest  history.  Short 
says:  *'In  the  Toltec  traditions  we  read  of  the 
Chichimecs  being  their  neighbors  in  Hue  hue  Tlapa- 
lan."3  Hue  hue  Tlapalan,  in  the  native  traditions, 
signifies  the  starting  point  of  the  national  history. 
The  Chichimecs  are  further  represented  "as  having 
pursued  and  annoyed  the  Toltecs,  to  have  followed 
them  in  their  wanderings."*  They  were  the  torment- 
ors of  the  civilized  nations.  We  shall  find  that  the 
native  records  and  traditions  show  that  the  Chichi- 
mecs finally  succeeded  in  overthrowing  the  civilized 
nation.  Compare  the  description  and  history  of  the 
Chi3himecs  with  the  Book  of  Mormon  account  of  the 
Lamanites,  as  we  go  along,  and  see  if  you  can  come 
to  any  other  conclusion  than  that  they  were  the  same 
people. 

WHENCE  OUR  ARCH^OLOGICAL  KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE 
ANCIENT  AMERICANS   IS   DERIVED. 

Before  we  pursue  our  studies  further,  it  may  make 
the  subject  more  comprehensive  to  know  how  science 

•See  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States,  vol.  1,  p.  617,  also 
vol.  5,  p.  218,  and  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  1,  chap.  1,  pp.  16,  17, 
footnote. 

■North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  255. 

^Ibid. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  23 

has  derived  such  knowledge  as  it  has  of  the  ancient 
peoples  of  America.  One  way,  of  course,  that  needs 
but  little  explanation,  has  been  by  exploration. 
Scientists,  either  acting  independently,  or  sent  out  by 
colleges,  scieiitific  societies,  or  governments,  search, 
dig  for,  and  study  ruins  and  remains. 

Another  source  of  information  was  the  traditions  of 
the  semi- civilized  nations  found  here  by  the  Span- 
iards, as  recorded  by  Spanish  scholars  and  writers  of 
that  time.  Notwithstanding  the  great  injury  the 
Spanish  priests  did  to  the  cause  of  the  world's 
enlightenment  by  their  destruction  of  the  native 
books  and  records,  there  were  intelligent  Spaniards 
who  came  afterwards  and  studied  the  people,  their 
customs  and  traditions,  and  such  manuscripts  and 
copies  of  manuscripts  as  had  not  been  destroyed. 

At  the  time  when  those  Spanish  students  wrote 
there  was  not  the  interest  taken  in  the  past  history  of 
America  that  there  is  now,  and  their  works  were 
placed  in  libraries  in  Central  America  and  Spain,  and 
forgotten  till  antiquarians  of  our  day  searched  for 
and  found  some  of  them.  It  is  supposed  that  there 
are  manuscripts  of  importance  that  were  written  and 
collected  by  those  early  Spanish  writers  that  are  yet 
unknown,  hidden  somewhere  in  old  libraries. 

An  important  native  book  that  was  preserved  is 
called  the  Popol-Vuh.  It  was  written  in  the  Quiche 
dialect,  a  branch  of  the  Maya  lanuage.  The  Popol- 
Vuh  was  translated  into  the  Spanish  language  two 
hundred  years  ago,  by  Ximenes,  and  his  translation 
remained  in  Guatemala,  unprinted  and  unknown, 
until  it  was  discovered  in  our  day,  and  a  better  trans- 


24  BOOK  OP   MORMON 

lation  made  into  the  French,  by  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg,  who  was  a  master  of  the  Quiche  language,  and 
a  profound  student  of  the  monuments,  writings,  and 
traditions  left  by  the  ancient  civilized  peoples  of  this 
continent.  The  Popol-Vuh  is  a  legendary  account, 
OP  outline,  of  the  * 'history,  traditions,  religion,  and 
cosmogony"  of  the  higher  civilization  that  preceded 
the  Quiches  or  Mayas,  the  Quiche  family  of  Mayas 
being  the  dominant  people  in  Central  America  at  the 
time  of  the  Spanish  conquest. 

Professor  Baldwin  says:  '*It  is  known  that  book 
or  manuscript  writings  were  abundant  ...  in  the 
ages  previous  to  the  Aztec  period."^  The  books 
belonging  to  the  older  ages,  however,  were  destroyed 
in  wars  and  revolutions,  or  by  the  "wear  of  time." 
"The  later  books,  not  otherwise  lost,  were  destroyed 
by  Aztec  and  Spanish  vandalism,"  except  that  there 
were  a  few  Spanish  priests,  less  narrow-minded 
and  fanatical  than  the  most  of  them,  who  quietly 
secured  and  secreted  some  of  the  manuscripts,  as 
mentioned  before,  while  the  people  obtained  and  hid 
some  copies.  It  is  said  that  the  Spanish  priests 
burned  piles  of  books  and  manuscripts,  making  great 
conflagrations.  This  destruction  has  called  forth  the 
most  bitter  expressions  from  antiquarians.  It  is  cer- 
tainly to  be  greatly  regretted  from  a  scientific  stand - 
'  point,  and  yet  we  think  those  ecclesiastics  entitled  to 
some  charity.  They  were  so  shocked  at  the  heathen- 
ish religious  practices  and  revolting  human  sacrifices 
they  witnessed,  that  they  considered  no  sacrifice  too 

"Ancient  America,  p.  287. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  25 

great  a  cost  to  remove  anything  which  they  believed 
would  keep  such  ideas  alive  in  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple. They  thought,  by  destroying  everything  that 
could  possibly  be  suggestive,  to  more  quickly  wean 
the  people  away  from  their  horrible,  bloody  practices. 
They  never  stopped  to  inquire  whether  the  writings 
they  were  destroying  gave  any  incentive  to  such 
practices  or  not. 

Of  the  older  and  more  superior  stages  of  the 
ancient  civilization  there  is  no  record  left  in  the 
shape  of  writing,  except  inscriptions  on  the  ruins, 
and  no  one  has  yet  been  able  to  translate  them. 
There  was  a  time  when  Egyptian  archaeology  was 
likewise  a  sealed  book  to  the  world,  but  a  stone, 
covered  with  inscriptions,  was  discovered  in  Rosetta, 
a  town  in  Egypt,  in  1799,  by  M.  Boussard,  a  French 
officer  of  engineers.  The  stone  was  found  in  an 
excavation  made  near  the  town  of  Rosetta.  In  1822, 
Champollion,  a  great  scholar,  discovered  the  key  to 
the  inscriptions,  and  was  able  to  translate  them.  It 
was  a  great  achievement  for  science.  It  unlocked 
the  mysteries  of  ancient  Egyptian  writings,  and  since, 
inscriptions  have  been  deciphered  that  have  added 
rich  contributions  to  our  knowledge  of  the  remote 
past  in  the  East,  and  have  borne  confirming  testi- 
mony to  historical  declarations  in  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures.  As  antiquarians  have  contemplated  the 
inscriptions  on  the  wonderful  ruins  of  Central 
America  they  have  cried,  *'0,  for  another  Champol- 
lion! to  unlock  the  mysteries  of  America's  past," 
more  mysterious  to  the  learning  of  the  world  than  the 
prehistoric  history  of  any  other  land. 


26  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

For  our  archaeological  knowledge  of  South  Ameri- 
can civilization  we  are  indebted  to  the  ruins,  and  to 
the  old  manuscripts  of  Spanish  writers.  *'The  Peru- 
vians, like  most  other  important  peoples  in  all  ages, 
had  mythical  wonder- stories  of  authentic  ancient 
history  to  explain  the  origin  of  their  nation.  These 
were  told  in  traditions  and  legends  preserved  and 
transmitted  from  generation  to  generation."  **In 
addition  to  these,  they  had  many  historic  traditions 
of  more  importance,  related  in  long  poems  and  pre- 
served in  the  same  way."  But  no  books  existed  in 
South  America  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  nor  were 
any  inscriptions  found  on  the  ruins.  We  shall  see 
more  about  this  later  on. 

The  fact  has  been  deplored  that  having  the  oppor- 
tunities they  had  then,  none  of  the  earlier  Spanish 
writers  studied  the  history  of  Peru  farther  back  than 
the  time  of  the  Incas.  Fernando  Montesinos  was  the 
only  Spanish  writer  that  tried  to  do  so,  but  he  went 
there  a  century  after  the  Conquest,  and  his  oppor- 
tunities were  not  so  favorable.  But  it  is  to  Monte- 
sinos that  science  is  indebted  for  the  most  of  what  is 
known  about  Peruvian  civilization.  He  made  a  dili- 
gent study  of  Peruvian  antiquity,  devoting  fifteen 
years  to  it.  He  learned  the  native  language  so  that 
he  was  able  to  communicate  with  the  Peruvians 
freely.  He  collected  their  historic  poems,  narratives, 
and  traditions.  There  were  natives  called  amautas, 
men  whom  the  Inca  government  educated  to  memo- 
rize and  transmit  the  national  history  to  posterity  by 
means  of  songs,  poems,  and  narratives;  oral  histori- 
ans, they  might  be  called.     Montesinos  got  the  assist- 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  27 

ance  of  these  men,  and  learned  much  from  them  of 
Peruvian  history. 

It  will  be  seen  that  what  knowledge  has  been 
gained  of  American  antiquities,  excepting  what  the 
ruins  have  contributed,  has  come  from  the  semi-civil- 
ized races  of  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  Peru,  the 
Aztecs,  Mayas,  and  Incas.  Nothing  in  the  way  of 
direct  account  remains  of  the  civilized  people  before 
them.  Nothing  of  importance,  has  been  derived  from 
the  wild  Indian  tribes.  They  have  some  traditions, 
and  some  significant  ones,  but,  as  Professor  Baldwin, 
whom  we  quoted  in  a  previous  paper,  says,  nothing 
such  as  they  would  have  if  they  had  once  been  civil- 
ized, or  were  descended  from  the  civilized  ancients. 
As  for  writings  or  records,  they  have  contributed 
nothing  to  the  store  of  knowldege.  So  it  has  been  in 
such  ways,  and  from  such  sources  as  have  been 
described,  that  science  has  derived  what  is  known  to 
it  of  America's  prehistoric  pasU 


Divinity   of  the   Book  of  Mormon  Proven  by 
Archeology. 

PART  I. 

AZTEC  CIVILIZATION. 
A  REFLECTED   CIVILIZATION. 

The  Book  of  Mormon  claims  that  the  originator  of 
the  civilization  of  which  it  gives  a  brief  record  were 
men  of  enlightened  minds  who  accomplished  advanced 
results  because  they  worked  under  divine  inspiration. 
The  civilization  did  not  begin  low  and  end  high,  but 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  described  to  have  been  at  its 
best  in  its  earlier  history,  and  to  have  declined  till  it 
was  no  longer  able  to  resist  its  enemies,  and  was 
finally  overcome  and  superseded  by  a  rude,  savage 
people. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  one  who  has  any 
acquaintance  with  history,  ininvestigating  ancient 
American  civilization,  is  the  strange  and  peculiar 
order  of  its  course.  In  Europe  civilization  began  at 
the  lower  stages  and  worked  upward,  and  wherever 
we  may  look,  in  whatever  land,  we  might  expect  to 
find  that  the  course  of  progress  had  been  the  same. 
But  it  was  not  so  in  America.  Short  says:  "The 
eras  or  ages  which  have  been  observed  to  rxiark  the 
different  stages  of  the  development  of  prehistoric 
man  in  Europe  are  apparently  reversed  in 
America."^     Here,  instead  of  the  latter  days  being 

*  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  27. 


30  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

the  grander,  the  earlier  periods  were  superior. 
Ruins  that,  by  having  been  rebuilt  and  repaired, 
indicate  successive  periods  of  occupation,  exhibit 
cruder  ideas  and  less  skillful  workmanship  in  the 
later  builders. 

The  Spaniards  were  amazed  at  the  people  they 
found  when  they  came  over  here,  the  Aztecs,  the 
Mayas,  and  the  Incas;  amazed  at  their  govern- 
ment, the  extent  of  their  empires,  their  manner 
of  living,  and  the  luxury  and  grandeur  of  their 
chief  cities.  No  wonder,  when  the  explorers 
returned  to  the  mother  country,  and  spread  reports 
of  what  they  had  seen  which  they  substantiated  by 
specimens  of  rare  materials  and  fine  workmanship 
which  they  had  taken  with  them,  that  such  fanciful 
ideas  and  expectations  were  excited  as  poor  old 
Ponce  de  Leon  and  others  came  over  here  with. 
One  writer  remarks  that  the  facts  about  the  Aztec, 
Maya,  and  Inca  Empires  read  almost  like  a  fairy 
story.  It  is  because  those  primitive  Americans  were 
so  mysterious,  their  civilization  so  little  to  be 
looked  for  on  a  continent  whose  very  existence  had 
been  unknown  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  it  is  a 
problem  which  science  is  no  nearer  accounting  for 
to-day. 

Unexpected  and  startling,  however,  as  it  was  to 
find  such  people  here,  living  in  such  a  manner  as 
were  these  nations,  it  was  still  more  marvelous  to 
find  that  their  civilization  was  but  the  fading  raya 
of  a  glorious  civilization  that  had  preceded  them, 
of  a  mighty  and  enlightened  people  that  was  dead 
and  gone.     Archaeological  evidence  is  abundant  to 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  31 

show  that  there  had  been  earlier  and  grander 
periods  of  progress;  that  before  the  Aztecs,  Mayas, 
or  Incas  there  had  lived  a  people  of  a  higher  order, 
and  superior  attainments.  ^ 

It  was  from  those  earlier  people  that  the  Aztecs, 
Mayas,  and  Incas  had  borrowed  what  civilization 
they  had.  Prescott  says,  "Their  civilization,  such 
as  it  was,  was  not  their  own,  but  reflected,  per- 
haps imperfectly,  from  a  race  whom  they  had 
succeeded  in  the  land."^  Hence,  it  will  enable  us 
to  form  a  better  idea  of  what  that  older  civilization 
must  have  been,  if  we  know  something  about  the 
history  of  the  people  who  followed  it. 

WHO   THE  AZTECS   WERE. 

The  two  most  advanced  nations  on  the  American 
Continent  when  the  country  was  discovered  by  the 
Europeans  *'were  those  of  Mexico  and  Peru,"  we 
are  told,  so  we  will  look  at  these  nations  briefly, 
taking  Mexico  first.  Ancient  Mexico,  or  Mexico  at 
the  time  of  the  discovery,  did  not  comprise  so 
much  territory  as  the  Republic  of  Mexico  does 
to-day,  because  Mexico  of  to-day  reaches  further 
north,  and  takes  in  more  of  Central  America.  Then, 
Central  America  belonged  to  the  Mayas,  and  formed 
the  Quiche-Cakchiquel  Empire. 

Another  name  for  Mexico  was  Anahuac.  Anahuac 
was  a  general  name,  while  Mexico  was  either  a  gen- 

*  See  chapter  3,  "The  Civilization  Before  the  Aztecs  and  the 
Incas." 

3  Conquest  of  Mexico  (Universal  edition),  vol.  3,  book  6,  chap. 


»  uonq 
J,  p.  201, 


32  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

eral  term,  or  might  apply  in  a  restricted  sense  to  tl">e 
state  of  Mexico,  only,  for  the  Aztec  or  Mexican 
Empire  was  a  confederacy  of  the  states  of  Mexico, 
Tezcuco,  and  Tlacopan.  It  is  common  to  speak  of 
the  Mexicans  (using  the  term  in  the  general  sense 
which  is  most  often  implied)  as  Aztecs,  when,  in 
reality,  there  were  other  branches  of  people,  besides 
them,  living  in  Mexico.  The  Mayas  of  Central 
America  were  made  up  of  different  nations,  or 
branches,  also,  and  yet,  in  general,  these  people 
were  all  practically  the  same,  though  each  branch 
had  its  peculiar  characteristics,  and  differed  from  the 
others  more  or  less.  The  Indians  commonly  kno^^m 
to-day  will  illustrate  the  idea.  They  are  composed 
of  various  tribes,  differing  one  from  another,  and  yet, 
as  a  race,  are  the  same  people. 

The  Aztecs  belonged  to  the  Chichimec  or  Indian 
race  of  which  we  have  before  spoken,  and  so  do  the 
Tezcucans,  the  Cholulans,  and  the  other  peoples 
of  Mexico.  From  this  the  reader  will  suppose  there 
must  have  been  a  mixture  of  the  savage  in  the 
Mexicans,  notwithstanding  whatever  tbe/y  might  have 
had  of  civilization,  and  so  there  *;^as,  as  we  shall  see, 
and  this  peculiar  compound  of  savage  axjd  civilized 
has  perplexed  the  learning  of  -^he  ^orld.  But  the 
Book  of  Mormon  makes  it  very  plain.  It  tells  us,  in 
the  first  place,  that  there  were  apostates  or  dissent- 
ers who  left  the  civilized  government  (the  Nephite) 
from  time  to  time,  and  joined  with  the  uncivilized 
people  (the  Lamanites).  The  superior  intelligence  of 
these  Nephite  rebels  always  had  influence  with  the 
Lamanites,  who  were  glad  to  be  initiated  in  the  sci- 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  33 

ence  and  arts  of  the  Nephites,  that  they  might  be 
more  effectual  in  combating  them,  and  the  dissent- 
ers were  given  prominent  positions  among  the 
Lamanites.  Noah's  priests,  Book  of  Mormon  stu- 
dents will  remember,  were  made  teachers  among 
the  LamaniteR.  Amnion  was  made  a  ruler  over  cer- 
tain territory.  Amalickiah  joined  the  Lamanites  and 
was  elevated  among  them.  His  brother,  Ammoron, 
succeeded  him  upon  AmaU.ckiah's  death,  and  was 
made  a-  king  and  led  the  Lamanite  armies.  Amlici 
drew  av/e-j/  many  people,  who,  with  him,  united 
iheii'  forrjas  with  the  Lamanites.  And  there  were 
othei  disser.ters  that  joined  with  the  Lamanites,  all 
taking  theiv  following  with  *them,  which,  in  cases 
whor^  the  numbers  are  mentioned,  were  numerous. 
Befcjides,  it  is  natural  to  suppose,  and  it  is  often  the 
case  in  other  instances  where  invading  armies  terrify 
the  people,  that  many  go  over  to  the  conquering 
side  for  safety;  or,  when  the  usurpers  have  estab- 
lished themselves,  growing  tired  of  resisting  the 
dominant  power,  and  being  persecuted  and  unpopu- 
lar, the  subjugated  will  gradually  blend  themselves 
with  their  victors.  It  must  have  been  the  same  with 
the  Nephite  people,  in  those  dark  last  days,  when 
they  realized  there  was  no  hope  for  them,  and  the 
horrors  of  war  were  devastating  their  land,  and  the 
pitiless,  cruel  enemy  was  hewing  their  numbers  down 
by  the  thousands.  In  time,  the  conquering  people, 
and  those  that  were  left  of  the  conquered,  would 
ceaae  to  be  socially  distinct,  and  the  blood  would 
become  mixed.  In  fact,  prophecy  indicates  as  much 
in  regard  to  the  preservation  of  the  Nephites.     It 


34  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

was  said  that  the  Lord  would  *'not  utterly  destroy 
the  mixture  of  thy  seed  which  are  among  thy  breth- 
ren."* This  amalgamation  of  enlightened  people 
with  ruder  classes  would  result  in  the  degeneration 
of  the  former,  while  the  latter  would  be  gainers  of 
intelligence  transmitted  to  them,  and  these  circum- 
stances, we  think,  explain  the  peculiar,  complex 
character  of  the  Mexicans  which  all  writers  note. 

Again,  the  conquering  people  would  establish 
themselves,  in  succession,  in  the  richest,  most  impor- 
tant, and  convenient  sites,  as  a  conquering  people 
always  does,  and  here  would  gather  those  classes 
representing  the  highest  culture,  in  whose  veins  was 
the  largest  admixture  of  the  blood  of  the  superior 
people.  The  lower  classes,  those  having  less  incli- 
nation for  civilization,  would  be  scattered  out  remote 
from  the  cities  and  central  regions,  just  as  the 
wild  tribes  of  Indians  were  found  to  be,  wandering 
through  the  forests  of  North  and  South  America, 
when  the  Europeans  came. 

But,  to  take  up  the  story  of  Aztec  history  again. 
Belonging  to  that  older,  more  highly  civilized  period 
before  the  Aztecs,  the  Tezcucans,  the  Cholulans, 
or  any  of  the  other  contemporary  branches,  there 
lived  in  Mexico  a  people  known  to  modern  history 
as  the  Toltecs.  Some  historians  apply  this  name 
to  the  predecessors  of  the  Aztec  era,  in  general, 
while  other  historians  use  it  to  designate  but  one 
branch    of    the  earlier    people;    but  popularly,  the 

*  1  Nephi  3:  120,  large  edition;  3:  40,  small  edition. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  36 

predecessors  of    the    Aztec    period    are  indiscrimi- 
nately spoken  of  as  Toltecs. 

We  have  to  refer  to  the  Toltecs  when  dealing  with 
Aztec  history,  because  it  was  from  their  predecessors, 
call  them.  Toltecs  or  whatever  name  historians  may 
call  them,  that  the  Aztecs  derived  their  civilization. 
It  was  this  way:  The  Chichimeo  tribes  had  been 
gradually  encroaching  on  the  Toltecs  for  a  long 
time.  Bancroft  says:  **Now,  for  a  great  number 
of  years  a  harassing  system  of  border  warfare  had 
been  carried  on  between  the  Chichimecs  and  the 
Toltecs."*  This  state  of  things  kept  on,  and,  to 
make  matters  worse,  tradition  says  that  there  were 
internal  troubles  arising  among  the  Toltecs,  and 
altogether,  they  were  at  last  compelled  to  succumb, 
and  their  enemies,  the  Chichimecs,  took  their  place. 
Among  the  Chichimec  tribes  to  enter  Mexico  first 
were  the  Cholulans  and  the  Tezcucans,  who  are 
recorded  by  the  early  Spanish  writers  to  have  been 
much  more  refined,  gentle  peoples  than  the  Aztecs 
were.  They  came  in  contact  with  the  original  resi- 
dents of  the  country,  and,  **receiving  the  tincture  of 
civilization  which  could  be  derived  from  the  few 
Toltecs  that  still  remained,"*  says  Prescott,  it  is 
apparent  why  they  were  superior  to  the  Aztecs.  In 
time,  however,  the  Aztecs  became  the  dominant 
Chichimec  family  in  Mexico,  though  they  were  ever 
in  awe  of  the  Tezcucans  socially,  and  ambitious  to 
marry    into    aristocratic    Tezcucan   families,   while 


•  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States,  vol.  5,  p.  290. 
«  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  1,  chap.  1,  p.  16. 


Se  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

they  copied,  in  turn,   their   arts,  manners,  and  cus- 
toms, as  the  Tezcucans  had  copied  from  the  Toltecs. 

GOVERNMENT. 

The  beginning  of  the  Aztec  reign  dated  from  about 
1426.''  Their  empire  had  reached  its  zenith  just 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  government  was 
monarchial,  and  nearly  absolute.  Personal  rights 
and  property  were  protected  by  strict  laws  which 
were  strictly  administered.  The  power  to  make  the 
laws  belonged  wholly  to  the  monarch,  but  there  were 
courts  and  officers  to  see  that  the  laws  were  properly 
kept.  A  person  charged  with  any  disobedience  of 
the  law  was  given  a  fair  trial  in  court,  and,  we  are 
told,  the  courts  were  conducted  with  order  and 
dignity.  There  were  different  orders  of  courts,  and 
the  privilege  of  appeal  from  lower  to  higher  courts. 
The  utmost  honesty  and  impartiality  were  required 
of  the  judges,  who  were  made  entirely  independent 
even  of  the  monarch,  so  that  there  could  be  no 
temptation  for  them  to  consider  policy.  Provision 
was  made  to  try  them,  however,  should  they  be 
found  in  trickery  or  violation  of  the  rules  to  which 
they  must  conform.  For  a  judge  to  "receive  pres- 
ents, or  a  bribe,  to  be  guilty  of  collusion  in  any  way 
with  a  suitor,"  was  punished  with  death.® 

SOCIAL   LIFE. 

Slavery  existed,  but  in  a  very  mild  form,  evidently, 
loT  poor  people,  not  able  to  support  their  children, 

7  Charaay's  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  387. 
«  Conqiiest  of  Mexico,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  2. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  87 

'Voluntarily  resigned  their  freedom."  We  are  told 
that  "the  slave  was  allowed  to  have  his  own  family, 
to  hold  property,  and  even  other  slaves.  His  chil- 
dren were  free.  No  one  could  be  born  to  slavery  in 
Mexico,  an  honorable  distinction,"  observes  Prescott, 
"not  known,  I  believe,  in  any  civilized  community 
where  slavery  has  been  sanctioned."^  The  institu- 
tion of  marriage  was  held  in  reverence,  and  ^he 
ceremony  was  celebrated  "with  as  much  formality 
as  in  any  Christian  country."  The  position  of 
women  was  respected  among  the  Aztecs.  When 
we  remember  that  it  is  only  where  heaven -given 
laws  have  gone,  where  the  light  of  Christianity  has 
permeated,  that  women  are  honored,  it  is  one  of  the 
features  about  Aztec  civilization  we  want  to  note  for 
our  final  conclusions  about  these  people.  Prescott 
tells  us  that  women  enjoyed  equal  social  freedom 
with  men,  that  wives  were  treated  with  consideration 
by  their  husbands,  and  in  the  division  of  labor, 
woman  did  the  lighter  part.  "Indeed,"  he  says, 
"the  sex  was  as  tenderly  regarded  by  the  Aztecs 
in  this  matter,  as  it  is  in  most  parts  of  Europe  at 
the  present  day."^^ 

Polygamy  was  permitted  to  some  extent  among 
the  Aztecs,  being  practiced  chiefly  by  the  princes 
and  the  wealthier  classes,  it  seems,  and  yet  it  is 
significant  to  note  what  Prescott  calls  a  "remarkable 
declaration,"  which  was  recorded  by  the  Spanish 
writers,  that  a  father,  in  counseUng  his  son,  would 

•Ibid.,  p.  39. 

10  Ibid.,  chap.  5,  pp.  154,  137. 


38  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

tell  him  that,  in  **the  multiplication  of  the  species, 
God  ordained  one  man  only  for  one  woman." ^^  No 
wonder  the  historian  calls  this  a  **remarkable  dec- 
laration." Here  is  a  scriptural  tradition  the  Aztecs 
had,  though  they  were  transgressed  from  it.  How 
did  they  get  hold  of  that  idea?  is  the  question. 
Again,  we  learn  that  the  Aztecs  had  charitable  insti- 
tutions, when  such  things  were  not  known  among 
people  so  enlightened  as  the  ancient  Greeks  and 
Romans.  The  following,  from  Prescott,  is  signifi- 
cant: **I  must  not  omit  to  notice  here  an  institution 
the  introduction  of  which  in  the  Old  World  is  ranked 
among  the  beneficent  fruits  of  Christianity.  Hos- 
pitals were  established  in  the  principal  cities  for  the 
cure  of  the  sick  and  the  permanent  refuge  of  the 
disabled  soldiers." ^  ^ 

We  are  told  that  in  social  life  the  Aztec  frequently 
displayed  "all  the  sensibility  of  a  cultivated  nature," 
"consoling  his  friends  under  affliction,"  "congratu- 
lating them  on  their  good  fortune,"  "on  occasion  of 
a  marriage,"  "the  birth  or  baptism  of  a  child." 
Children  were  brought  up  with  the  greatest  care, 
parents  displaying  tender  solicitude  for  the  welfare 
of  their  sons  and  daughters.  The  girls  were  taught 
modesty  "as  the  great  adornment  of  a  woman,"  and 
the  morals  in  schools  of  both  sexes  were  pure.  ^  ^ 

AGRICULTURE  AND  MANUFACTURES. 

Industry  was  held  in  high  esteem,  as  this  advice  of 
an  old  chief  will  show:     "Apply  thyself,  my  son,  to 

i»  Ibid.,  chap.  5,  p.  154,  footnote;  also  see  chap.  3,  p.  68. 
12  Ibid.,  chap.  2,  p.  49. 
18  Ibid.,  chap.  p. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  39 

agriculture,  or  to  feather-work,  or  some  other  honor- 
able calling.  Thus  did  your  ancestors  before  you. 
.  .  .  Never  was  it  heard  that  nobility  alone  was  able 
to  maintain  its  possessor."  Up  to  the  time  of  the 
last  emperor,  Montezuma  II,  trade  was  no  bar  to 
social  position,  but  Montezuma  sought  to  draw  a 
line  between  the  nobility,  and  the  merchants  and 
common  people,  and  this  was  one  cause  of  making 
himself  unpopular  with  the  people,  and  preparing 
the  way  for  the  overthrow  of  the  empire  by  the 
Spaniards,  because  his  subjects  would  not  stand 
unitedly  with  him.  The  people  were  advanced  in 
agriculture.  They  made  canals  and  irrigated  the 
soil.  They  built  great  granaries  for  the  products  of 
the  harvest,  while  their  green  houses  or  nurseries 
"were  more  extensive  than  any  existing  in  the  Old 
World."  They  mined  silver,  lead,  and  tin.  Their 
smiths  excelled  the  workmanship  of  European 
smiths.  They  knew  how  to  mix  metals  so  to  make 
a  hard  substance  called  bronze,  of  which  they 
manufactured  tools.  The  Tlascalans  manufactured 
pottery  "which  was  equal  to  the  best  in  Europe," 
while  the  Cholulan  pottery  rivaled  "that  of  Florence 
in  beauty."  They  wove  thread  and  cloth,  some 
grades  of  which  were  of  great  beauty.  An  exquisite 
fabric  was  their  famous  feather -work,  the  art  of 
making  which  writers  deplore  should  have  been 
allowed  to  have  been  lost.  The  people  did  rich 
coloring,  and  fine  embroidery  of  flowers,  birds,  and 
fanciful  designs.^* 

**Ibid.,  chap.  5;  also  see  book  3,  same  volume,  chap.  5,  p. 
464;  vol.  2,  book  3,  chap.  6,  p.  4. 


10  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

BARBER   SHOPS  AND  MARKETS. 

It  is  said  that  there  were  barbershops,  that  the 
Mexicans  had  scanty  beards,  ^^  though  the  wild 
Indians  have  not, — another  evidence  that  the  Mexi- 
cans were  not  of  pure  Chichimec  or  Indian  blood. 
There  were  no  stores  or  shops  in  Mexico.  Every- 
thing was  "brought  together  for  sale  in  the  great 
market-places  of  the  principal  cities.*'  The  Span- 
iards were  astonished  at  the  market  of  the  city  of 
Mexico.  A  Spanish  writer,  Diaz,  is  quoted  as  say- 
ing, **There  are  among  us  soldiers  who  had  been 
in  many  parts  of  the  world, — ^in  Constantinople  and  in 
Rome  and  through  all  Italy, — and  who  said  that  a 
market-place  so  large,  so  well  ordered  and  regulated, 
and  so  filled  with  people,  they  had  never  seen." ^* 

MECHANICAL  SKILL,   ENGINEERING,   BUILDING  AND 
MASONRY. 

Objects  of  great  size  and  weight  were  moved  from 
one  place  to  another  which,  says  Prescott,  "suggests 
to  us  no  mean  ideas  of  their  mechanical  skill  and  of 
their  machinery."  The  Mexicans  built  great  cause- 
ways, aqueducts,  and  other  public  works.  They 
erected  magnificent  temples.  "Twelve  acres  of  the 
great  enclosure  of  the  Aztec  temple  were  taken  for 
a  Spanish  plaza,  and  are  still  used  for  this  purpose, 
while  the  site  of  the  temple  is  occupied  by  a  cathe- 
dral. The  plaza  is  paved  with  marble.  Like  the 
rest  of  the  great  enclosure,  it  was  paved  when  the 

"  Ibid.,  vol.  2,  book  4,  chap.  2,  p.  132. 
»« Ibid.,  pp.  135,  137. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  41 

Spaniards  iSrst  saw  it,  and  the  paving  was  so  per- 
fect and  so  smooth  that  their  horses  were  liable  to 
slip  and  fall  when  they  attempted  to  ride  over  it." 
Bancroft  desciribes  a  great  dike  built  by  the  Tezcu- 
cans,  of  which  he  says,  "This  work  may  be  consid- 
ered a  great  triumph  of  aboriginal  engineering, 
especially  when  we  consider  the  millons  spent  by 
the  Spaniards  under  the  best  European  engineers  in 
protecting  the  city,  hardly  more  effectually,  against 
similar  inundations."  Baldwin  says:  **The  uniform 
testimony  of  all  who  saw  the  country  .  .  .  shows 
that  the  edifices  of  towns  and  cities,  wherever  they 
went,  were  most  commonly  laid  in  mortar,  or  of 
timber,  and  that  in  the  rural  districts  thatch  was 
frequently  used  for  the  roofs  of  dwellings.  More- 
over, we  are  told  repeatedly  that  the  Spaniards 
employed  'Mexican  masons,'  and  found  them  very 
expert  in  the  arts  of  building  and  plastering.  There 
is  no  good  reason  to  doubt  that  the  civilized  condition 
of  the  country,  when  the  Spaniards  found  it,  was 
superior  to  what  it  has  been  at  any  time  since  the 
Conquest."  ^"^ 

ADVANCEMENT  OF  THE   CITY   OF  MEXICO. 

The  city  of  Mexico,  which  was  the  capital  of  ancient 
Mexico  as  it  is  the  capital  of  modem  Mexico,  was  a 
much  greater  city  then,  than  it  is  now.  Parts  of 
the  city,  now,  we  are  told,  are  built  on  the  ancient 
foundations.     On  their  march  to  Mexico,   the  army 

»^Ibid.,  vol.  1,  book  5,  chap.  5,  page  145;  Native  Races  of  the 
Pacific  States,  vol.  5,  p.  413;  Ancient  America,  pp.  214,  216. 


42  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

of  Cortez,  the  Spanish  conqueror,  passed  through 
orchards  and  cultivated  fields.  *' Everywhere  the 
conquerors  beheld  the  evidences  of  a  crowded  and 
thriving  population."  Waters  were  spanned  by 
bridges,  and  swarms  of  canoes  filled  with  busy  peo- 
ple, were  plying  to  and  fro.  Here  was  a  busy 
population  which  "obtained  a  good  subsistence 
from  the  manufacture  of  salt,  which  they  extracted 
from  the  waters  of  the  great  lake."  "At  a  dis- 
tance of  half  a  league  from  the  capitol,  they  encoun- 
tered a  solid  work  or  curtain  of  stone.  ...  It  was 
twelve  feet  high,  was  strengthened  by  towers  at 
the  extremities,  and  in  the  center  was  a  battle - 
mented  gateway,  which  opened  a  passage  to  the 
troops.  It  was  called  the  fort  of  Xoloc."  Entering 
the  city  "they  found  fresh  cause  for  admiration  in 
the  grandeur  of  the  city  and  the  superior  style  of 
its  architecture."  They  passed  up  a  great  avenue 
lined  with  the  houses  of  the  nobles  which  were 
built  of  a  "red  porous  stone  drawn  from  quarries 
in  the  neighborhood."  The  eye  "ranged  along 
the  deep  vista  of  temples,  terraces,  and  gardens." 
The  "iron  tramp"  of  the  Spanish  horses  rung  upon 
streets  "which  were  coated  with  a  hard  cement."  "A 
careful  police  provided  for  the  health  and  cleanli- 
ness of  the  city.  A  thousand  persons  are  said  to 
have  been  daily  employed  in  watering  and  sweeping 
the  streets."  "In  appearance  of  the  capitol,  its 
massy  yet  elegant  architecture,  its  luxurious  accom- 
modations, its  activity  in  trade,  he  (Cortez)  recognized 
the  proofs  of  the  intellectual  progress,  mechanical 
skill,  and  enlarged  resources  of  an  old  and  opulent 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  43 

community."*®  Thus  Prescott  describes  Mexico  as 
the  Spaniards  found  it,  only  we  have  been  com- 
pelled to  give  but  brief  extracts. 

LITERATURE  AND   SCHOOLS. 

The  Aztecs  had  a  literature;  they  had  schools,  and 
sciences.  The  Tezcucan  literature  was  more  pol- 
ished, and  their  writing  more  graceful  looking,  but 
the  system  of  all  the  peoples  was  the  hieroglyphic,  or 
picture-writing.  Their  laws  were  written.  They 
kept  a  record  of  their  history,  and  these  manuscripts 
were  preserved  in  Hbraries,  or  national  archives. 
There  were  poets  and  philosophers  among  the  people. 
In  the  writings  of  Nezahaulcoyotl,  a  Tezcucan  prince, 
there  are  thoughts  and  sentiments  that  are  not 
inferior  to  the  intelligence  and  feehng  of  our  own 
literature,  and  his  style  has  beauty  and  refinement. 
Speeches  on  public  occasions  showed  appreciation  of 
oratorical  effect.  There  were  public  schools  in  which 
the  songs  and  hymns  of  the  nation  were  taught. 
These  songs  and  hymns  served  as  history,  and,  we 
are  told,  were  "the  most  authentic  record  of  events." 
For  the  wealthier  classes  there  were  higher  schools. 
Girls  were  taught,  in  the  seminaries,  weaving, 
embroidery,  and  needlework.  In  the  colleges,  young 
men  were  instructed  in  the  national  language,  and 
in  the  hieroglyphic  writing.  Besides,  history, 
astronomy,  mythology,  and  other  branches  were 
taught.  *» 

i«  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  2,  book  3,  chap.  9,  pp.  67,  68,  89; 
also  book  4,  chap.  1,  pp.  106,  110. 

i»Ibid.,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  4,  pp.  93-112;  chap.  6,  pp.  174- 
177;  vol.  2,  book  4,  chap.  1,  p.  148. 


44  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

SCIENCE — THE  MEXICAN   CALENDAR. 

But  in  science,  we  are  told,  the  people  surpassed 
their  literary  attainments.  Their  system  of  arith- 
metic was  so  complete  that  "they  were  enabled 
to  indicate  any  quantity,"  even  fractions.  All 
writers  unite  in  admiration  and  wonder  of  the 
Mexican  calendar.  They  counted  365  days  to  the 
year,  adding  five  intercalary  days  and  six  hours  to 
arrive  at  the  time  exactly,  and  once  every  four 
years  they  counted  366  days  a  year.  Short,  com- 
menting on  the  subject,  says:  "The  fact  that 
Cortez  found  the  Julian  reckoning, ,  employed  by  his 
own  and  every  other  European  nation,  to  be  more 
than  ten  days  in  error  when  tried  by  the  Aztec 
system — a  system  the  almost  perfect  accuracy  of 
which  was  proven  by  the  adjustments  which  took 
place  under  Gregory  XIII,  in  1582  A.  D. — excites  our 
wonder  and  admiration."  Our  thoughtful  young 
student  will  also  note  this  observation,  from  Pres- 
cott:  "But  that  they  should  be  capable  of  accu- 
rately adjusting  their  festivals  by  the  movements 
of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  should  fix  the  true 
length  of  the  tropical  year,  with  a  precision  unknown 
to  the  great  philosophers  of  antiquity,  could  be  the 
result  only  of  a  long  series  of  nice  and  patient 
observations,  evincing  no  slight  progress  in  civiliza- 
tion. But  whence  could  the  rude  inhabitants  of 
these  mountain  regions  have  derived  this  curious 
erudition?"  2  0 


*o  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  519;  Conquest  of  Mexico, 
vol.  1,  book  2,  chap.  4,  po.  112-127. 


MEXICAN   CALENDAR   STONE. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  46 

THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AZTECS. 

By  this  time  the  student  begins  to  wonder,  per- 
haps, where  the  marks  of  savage  nature  in  the 
Aztecs  were.  But  we  have  been  looking  at  the 
brighter  side,  the  side  that  was  probably  inherited, 
and  that  was  not  Chichimec,  or  Indian,  at  all.  It 
was  the  combination  of  inherited  graces  and  the 
Chichimec  that  made  up  the  Aztec.  If  a  question 
has  been  raised  in  the  mind  of  the  young  student 
as  to  why  historians  have  classed  the  Aztecs  under 
the  head  of  Chichimecs,  we  shall  see  the  reason 
when  we  turn  to  the  Aztec  religion.  And  yet,  the 
religious  side  of  their  national  life  was  not  wholly 
representative  of  the  heathen  and  barbarian.  On 
the  contrary,  nowhere  do  we  find  more  striking 
contrasts  in  Aztec  character  than  in  their  religion. 
As  Fresco tt  made  a  special  study  of  Aztec  civiliza- 
tion, and  later  writers  and  investigators  have  been 
confirming  the  verity  of  his  accounts;  and  as  his 
works  are  so  easily  accessible  to  the  general  reader, 
we  refer  principally  to  him.  Mr.  Prescott  says: 
**In  contemplating  the  religious  system  of  the  Aztecs, 
one  is  struck  with  its  apparent  incongruity,  as  if  some 
portion  of  it  had  emanated  from  a  comparatively 
refined  people,  open  to  gentle  influences,  while  the 
rest  breathes  of  a  spirit  of  unmitigated  ferocity. 
Tt  naturally  suggests  the  idea  of  two  distinct  sources, 
and  authorizes  the  belief  that  the  Aztecs  had  inher- 
ited from  their  predecessors  a  milder  faith,  on  which 
was  afterwards  engrafted  their  own  mythology.'** 

*  Conquest  of  Mexico,  Universal  Edition,  volume  1,   book    1, 


46  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

The  Aztecs  were  an  idolatrous  people,  and  yet 
they  beHeved  in  a  Supreme  Creator.  They  prac- 
ticed the  most  horrible  human  sacrifice,  and  at  the 
same  time  they  had,  we  are  told,  **some  remarkable 
traditions,  bearing  a  singular  resemblance  to  those 
found  in  the  Scriptures."  They  beHeved  in  a  future 
state  of  existence,  and  in  two  places,  one  of  reward, 
and  one  of  punishment.  Their  conceptions  of  these 
places  were  vague,  to  be  sure,  and  yet,  Prescott  says, 
the  heaven  of  the  Aztecs  was  "more  refined  in  its 
character" — in  other  words,  more  nearly  the  true 
idea,  than  that  held  by  the  "more  polished  pagans" 
of  antiquity  in  the  Old  World,  —  the  Greeks,  for 
instance.  The  Aztecs  had  a  tradition  of  the  Deluge. 
They  believed  that  two  persons  were  saved  from  the 
flood,  a  man  and  his  wife.  "A  dove  is  also 
depicted."  There  was  a  further  tradition  "that  the 
boat  in  which  Tezpi,  their  Noah,  escaped,  was  filled 
with  various  kinds  of  animals  and  birds." 

"Another  point  of  coincidence"  with  the  Scrip- 
tures, Prescott  says,  "is  found  in  the  goddess 
Cioacoatl,  *our  lady  and  mother' ;  *the  first  goddess 
who  brought  forth' ;  *who  bequeathed  the  sufferings 
of  childbirth  to  women,  as  the  tribute  of  death' ;  *by 
whom  sin  came  into  the  world.'  Such  was  the 
remarkable  language  applied  by  the  Aztecs  to  this 
venerated  deity.  She  was  usually  represented  with  a 
serpent  near  her;  and  her  named  signified  the  'ser- 
pent-woman.'    In  all  this  we  see  much  to  remind  us 

chapter  3,  page  57.  The  rest  of  the  references  in  this  paper  will 
be  found  in  same  volume,  book,  and  chapter;  also  in  volume  3, 
Appendix,  part  1,  except  where  different  sources  are  given. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  47 

of  the  mother  of  the  human  family,  the  Eve  of  the 
Hebrew  and  Syrian  nations.  But  none  of  the  deities 
of  the  country  suggested  such  astonishing  analogies 
with  scripture  as  Quetzalcoatl."  "He  was  the  white 
man,  wearing  a  long  beard,"  "came  from  the  East," 
"disappeared  as  mysteriously  as  he  had  come,"  but 
"promised  to  return  at  some  future  day,"  and  "his 
reappearance  was  looked  for  with  confidence  by 
each  succeeding  generation."  In  a  future  chapter 
we  shall  show  how  the  confidence  of  the  people  in 
the  reappearance  of  this  Quetzalcoatl  helped  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  the  conquest  of  Mexico.  All  that 
was  good  in  their  institutions  and  life  they  attributed 
to  Quetzacoatl;  he  taught  them.  Modern  writers 
speak  of  him  as  the  "culture-hero."  "The  curious 
antiquaries  of  Mexico  found  out,  that  to  this  God 
were  to  be  referred  the  institutions  of  ecclesiastical 
communities,  reminding  one  of  the  monastic  socie- 
ties of  the  Old  World ;  that  of  the  rites  of  confession 
and  penance;  and  the  knowledge  even  of  the  great 
doctrines  of  the  Trinity  and  the  Incarnation ! "  Some 
saw,  "in  his  anticipated  advent  to  regenerate  the 
nation,  the  type,  dimly  veiled,  of  the  Messiah!"  So 
wonderful  and  significant  is  the  fuller  description  of 
Quetzalcoatl,  given  by  other  writers,  and  so  promi- 
nent was  he  in  the  traditions  of  all  the  nations,  that 
we  shall  devote  a  future  chapter  to  the  subject. 

The  Spaniards  found  the  cross  here.  It  was  sculp- 
tured on  the  waUs  of  Palenque.  It  was  represented 
in  various  ways,  and  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
"That  the  reader  may  see  for  himself  how  Like,  yet 
how  unlike,  the  Aztec  rite  [of  baptism]  wa8  to  the 


48  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

Christian,  I  give  the  translation  of  Sahagun's 
account,  at  length.  'When  everything  necessary  for 
the  baptism  had  been  made  ready,  all  the  relations  of 
the  child  were  assembled,  and  the  midwife,  who  was 
the  person  that  performed  the  rite  of  baptism,  was 
summoned.  At  early  dawn,  they  met  together  in  the 
courtyard  of  the  house.  When  the  sun  had  risen,  the 
midwife,  taking  the  child  in  her  arms,  called  for  a 
little  earthen  vessel  of  water,  while  those  about  her 
placed  the  ornaments  which  had  been  prepared  for 
the  baptism  in  the  midst  of  the  court.  To  perform 
the  rite  of  baptism,  she  placed  herself  with  her  face 
towards  the  west,  and  immediately  began  to  go 
through  certain  ceremonies.  .  .  .  After  this  she 
sprinkled  water  on  the  head  of  the  infant,  saying,  *'0 
my  child !  take  and  receive  the  water  of  the  Lord  of 
the  world,  which  is  our  life,  and  is  given  for  the 
increasing  and  renewing  of  our  body.  It  is  to  wash 
and  to  purify.  I  pray  that  these  heavenly  drops  may 
enter  into  your  body,  and  dwell  there;  that  they  may 
destroy  and  remove  from  you  all  the  evil  and  sin 
which  was  given  to  you  before  the  beginning  of  the 
world;  since  all  of  us  are  under  its  power,  being  all 
the  children  of  Chalchivitlycue"  [the  goddess  of 
water].  [The  wife  of  Noah,  descended  from  Eve.] 
She  then  washed  the  body  of  the  child  with  water, 
and  spoke  in  this  manner:  *'Whencesoever  thou 
comest,  thou  that  art  hurtful  to  this  child;  leave 
him  and  depart  from  him,  for  he  now  liveth  anew, 
and  is  born  anew,"  '  "  etc.,  etc. 

An   analogy    with    the    "Christian    communion": 
The  Aztecs  made  a  mixture  '*of  the  flour  of  maize, 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  49 

mixed  with  blood,  and,  after  consecration  by  the 
priests,  was  distributed  among  the  people,  who,  as 
they  ate  it,  'showed  signs  of  humility  and  sorrow, 
declaring  it  was  the  flesh  of  the  deity!'  "  *'We  are 
reminded  of  Christian  morals  in  more  than  one  of 
their  prayers,  in  which  they  used  regular  forms. 
*Wilt  thou  blot  us  out,  O  Lord,  forever?  Is  this  pun- 
ishment intended,  not  for  our  reformation,  but  for 
our  destruction?'  Again,  'Impart  to  us,  out  of  thy 
great  mercy,  thy  gifts,  which  we  are  not  worthy  to 
receive  through  our  own  merits.'  'Keep  peace  with 
all,'  says  another  petition;  'bear  injuries  with 
humility;  God,  who  sees,  will  avenge  you.'  But  the 
most  striking  parallel  with  Scripture  is  in  the  remark- 
able declaration  that  'he  who  looks  too  curiously  on 
a  woman  commits  adultery  with  his  eyes.'  "  . 

"When  the  Spanish  missionaries  saw  the  cross  here, 
found  the  rite  of  baptism  practiced,  and  discovered 
other  scriptural  resemblances  in  the  religious  tradi- 
tions and  practices  of  the  people,  it  all  looked  to 
them  like  indications  that  somehow,  at  sometime,  a 
knowledge  of  Christianity  and  the  Scriptures  had 
been  taught  on  this  continent.  But  this  idea  is 
derided  by  scientific  writers  who  point  out,  for 
instance,  that  the  cross  was  represented  in  coun- 
tries of  the  Old  World  long  before  the  time  of  Christ; 
also,  that  baptism  was  practiced  by  pagan  nations 
"on  whom  the  light  of  Christianity  had  never 
shone,"  hence,  it  is  argued,  the  discovery  of  these 
things  among  the  primitive  Americans  could  not  be 
significant  of  Christianity.  These  scientific  writers 
evidently  do  not  know,   however,  that  the  doctrine 


50  BOCK  OP    MORMON 

of  Christ  was  taught  our  first  parents,  Adam  and 
Eve,  and  that  all  peoples  that  have  lived  upon  this 
world  originally  came  in  contact  with  these  ideas; 
hence,  Christian  emblems  have  been  found  among  all 
the  nations  of  antiquity,  and  hence,  again,  these 
emblems  are  not  without  significance  of  Christianity 
when  found  in  the  Old  World,  even,  though  existing 
prior  to  the  Christian  era  chronologically.  But  pass- 
ing by  scientific  reasoning  for  the  existence  of  these 
emblems  in  the  Old  World,  how  came  they  in  the 
so-called  New  World?  Would  it  not  be  remarkable, 
to  the  point  of  unreasonableness,  that  the  peoples  in 
separate  parts  of  the  world,  having  no  communica- 
tion with  each  other,  should  accidentally  hit  upon 
the  same  figure  as  the  cross,  and  represent  it  on  their 
buildings,  and  in  various  other  ways,  and  that  so 
much  attention  should  be  given  it ;  that  it  should  be 
so  generally  exhibited  in  both  hemispheres?  When 
we  learn,  however,  that  there  was  not  only  this  one 
idea  held  in  common  between  the  ancient  peoples  of 
the  Old  and  New  Worlds,  but  two;  that  the  people 
in  the  New  World  stumbled  on  the  same  thing  again, 
in  baptism,  as  the  people  in  the  Old  World,  is  it  not  a 
little  strange,  indeed,  that  two  such  coincidences 
should  have  occurred,  and  become  so  wide -spread, 
on  such  important  points? 

But  these  were  not  the  only  resemblances  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  belief  of  God's 
people  in  the  Old  World  that  were  found  in  the  reli- 
gious ideas  of  the  Mexicans.  Short  says:  "It  is  a 
matter  of  surprise  how  much  has  been  written  to 
establish  the  theory  that  the  Mexicans  were  descend- 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  51 

ants  of  the  Jews  both  in  race  and  religion,"  and  he 
proceeds  to  give  a  list  of  what  has  been  claimed  to 
be  analogies  with  Jewish  doctrine.^  Again  we  find 
skepticism  on  the  part  of  scientific  writers,  who  think 
that  that  which  is  beyond  their  understanding,  must 
be  accidental  or  imaginary — in  this  case,  that  the 
early  Spanish  writers  saw  imaginary  resemblances  in 
accidental  analogies.  We  are  warned  that  we  must 
be  cautious  in  making  deductions  from  analogies. 
That  is  true.  At  the  same  time,  however,  the  fadt 
that  so  much  has  been  written  about  the  Mexicans 
being  descendants  of  the  Jews,  because  of  similarities 
in  their  traditions  and  customs,  is  very  simple  evi- 
dence that  so  much  has  been  found;  and  this  fact, 
again,  leaves  small  room  for  the  idea  that  the  early 
writers  could  have  imagined  it  all.  Besides,  what 
motive  could  they  have  had  for  doing  so?  Those 
early  Spanish  writers  were  mostly  Catholic  priests, 
for  in  that  day  the  priests  comprised  about  all  of  the 
learned  or  literary  class,  and  those  priests  came  over 
here  as  missionaries,  to  bring  Christianity  to  this 
land.  They  did  not  expect  to  find  that  it  had  already 
been  here.  It  was  the  last  thing  in  the  world  they 
would  have  looked  for,  for  how  could  it  be,  when  this 
**new  land,"  as  it  was  called,  had  been  cut  off  from 
the  Old  World  from  which  only  could  Christianity 
and  scriptural  knowledge  possibly  have  come,  they 
beheved  then,  and  the  world  believes  to-day.  But 
those  early  writers  had  more  simplicity  and  less 
science  than  writers  have  to-day.    They  did  not  try 

•North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pages  459-465. 


52  BOOK  OP   MORMON 

to  make  themselves  to  not  believe  that  which  their 
eyes  saw,  because  it  conflicted  with,  or  could  not  be 
accounted  for  by  their  theories.  Happily  for  the 
cause  of  knowledge  to-day,  they  did  not  have  so 
much  scientific  bigotry  then,  so  when  those  early 
missionaries  discovered  things,  though  they  did  not 
understand  them,  they  just  indulged  in  honest  sur- 
prise, and  wrote  down  what  they  found.  We  quoted 
Doctor  Mcllvaine's  remark  in  our  opening  chapter, 
**But  exceedingly  insignificant  as  are  all  resources 
for  the  earliest  history  of  the  world  independently  of 
the  Bible,  they  may  be  of  great  consequence  in  con- 
nection with  the  Bible."  If  no  traces  of  scriptural  or 
Christian  resemblances  had  been  found  among  the 
nations  that  were  here  when  the  discoverers  came, 
nor  signs  of  there  having  been  any  among  the  people 
before  them,  it  would  have  left  the  Book  of  Mormon 
unsupported  in  its  most  important  claim,  because  it 
teaches  that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  continent 
had  the  Old  Testament  scriptures,  and  that  Christ, 
and  the  plan  of  salvation  through  him,  was  revealed 
unto  them,  before  which,  they  obeyed  the  Mosaic 
law.  But  when  these  accounts  of  the  early  Spanish 
writers  are  considered  "in  connection"  with  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  and  found  to  coincide  with  that 
record,  does  not  the  fact  that  the  one  bears  wit- 
ness to  the  other  give  the  former  significance  and 
importance,  and  place  the  latter  in  a  position 
demanding  respectful  hearing  of  its  claims  to  be 
divinely  inspired? 

We  come  now  to  the  Chichimec,  or  Indian  side  of 
Aztec  character.     The  sacrifice  of  human  life  by  the 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  53 

Aztecs  was  revolting  and  horrible  in  the  extreme. 
They  procured  their  victims  from  neighboring  prov- 
inces which  they  subjugated.  When  the  captives 
they  had  on  hand  were  not  sufficient  in  number  to 
satisfy  their  ceremonials,  armies  were  sent  out  to  war 
against  unconquered  tribes,  to  bring  back  victims  for 
the  sacrifice.  The  great  object  of  war  with  the 
Aztecs,  we  are  told,  "was  quite  as  much  to  gather 
victims  for  their  sacrifices  as  to  extend  their  empire." 
An  enemy  was  never  slain  in  battle  if  he  could  bo 
taken  alive.  Human  sacrifice  was  carried  on  to 
greater  and  greater  extent  till  in  the  time  of  Monte- 
zuma, at  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards,  * 'thousands 
were  yearly  offered  up,  in  the  different  cities  of 
Anahuac,  on  the  bloody  altars  of  Mexican  divini- 
ties." Bancroft  tells  us  that  on  one  occasion,  in 
dedicating  a  new  sacrificial  stone,  twelve  thousand 
captives  were  offered  up.  In  case  of  any  calamity, 
drought,  famine,  etc.,  they  importuned  their  gods 
by  human  sacrifice  to  turn  the  affliction  away. 
Even  women  and  little  children  were  offered  up. 
Sacrifice  formed  a  part  of  all  public  ceremonies  and 
festivals.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  Spaniards  were 
so  horrified  when  they  visited  the  great  Mexican 
temple  that  they  called  the  place  **hell."  The  inte- 
rior walls,  says  Diaz,  one  of  Cortez's  soldiers,  "were 
stained  with  human  gore.'*  "The  stench  was  more 
intolerable  than  that  of  the  slaughter-houses  in 
Castile." 

Bancroft  tells  us  that  preceding  the  Aztec  period, 
in  the  last  days  of  the  Toltec  period,  human  sacrifice 
began  to  be  practiced.     It  was  strongly  opposed  by  a 


54  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

sect  that  were  spoken  of  as  followers  of  Quetzalcoatl, 
but  in  time  they  were  overpowered  by  general  senti- 
ment, which  was  wandering  further  and  further  away 
from  the  pure  teachings  of  Quetzalcoatl.^  Very  sig- 
nificant is  this  account  *'in  connection  with"  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  for  that  is  the  same  sad  story  it  tells,  of 
the  decline  and  transgression  of  the  Nephites,  how 
heresies,  idolatry,  and  bloody  practices  were  intro- 
duced among  them.  Prescott  says  that  human  sacri- 
fice was  rare  at  the  beginning  of  the  Aztec  reign,  and 
that  there  were  still  some  influences  left  that  tried  to 
restrain  it.  Nezahualcoyotl,  an  early  Tezcucan 
prince,  and  the  grandest  ruler  of  the  Aztec  period, 
''strenuously  endeavored  to  recall  his  people  to  the 
more  pure  and  simple  worship  of  the  ancient  Tol- 
tecs."  **These  idols  of  wood  and  stone  can  neither 
hear  nor  feel,"  he  told  the  people;  "much  less  could 
they  make  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  man,  the 
lord  of  it.  These  must  be  the  work  of  the  all-power- 
ful, unknown  God,  Creator  of  the  universe,  on  whom 
alone  I  must  rely  for  consolation  and  support."* 

The  lowest  and  most  savage  feature  of  Aztec  life 
was  cannibalism.  They  **were  not  cannibals  in  the 
coarsest  acceptation  of  the  term.  They  did  not  feed 
on  human  flesh  merely  to  gratify  a  brutish  appetite, 
but  in  obedience  to  their  religion.  Their  repasts  were 
made  of  the  victims  whose  blood  had  been  poured 
out  on  the  altar  of  sacrifice."  As  illustrating  the 
anomaly  presented  in  Aztec  character  the  following 

•Native  Races,  pages  268,  482. 

^Conquest  of  Mexico,  volume  1,  book  1,  chapter  6,  page  193. 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  55 

description  of  a  banquet  is  given:  * 'The  halls  were 
scented  with  perfumes,  and  the  courts  strewed  with 
odoriferous  herbs  and  flowers,  which  were  distributed 
in  profusion  among  the  guests,  as  they  arrived.  Cot- 
ton napkins  and  ewers  of  water  were  placed  before 
them,  and  they  took  their  seats  at  the  board;  for  the 
venerable  ceremony  of  ablution  before  and  after  eat- 
ing was  punctiliously  observed  by  the  Aztecs." 
"The  table  was  ornamented  with  vases  of  silver,  and 
sometimes,  gold,  of  delicate  workmanship.  The 
drinking  cups  and  spoons  were  of  the  same  costly 
material,  and  likewise  of  tortoise-shell.'*  The  menu 
comprised  meats,  which  were  kept  warm  in  chaf- 
ing-dishes, and  vegetables  and  fruits.  **The  differ- 
ent viands  were  prepared  in  various  ways,  with 
delicate  sauces  and  seasonings.  .  .  .  Their  palate 
was  still  further  regaled  by  confections  and  pastry 
for  which  their  maize -flour  and  sugar  supplied  ample 
materials."  But  there  was  another  dish,  "of  a  dis- 
gusting nature,"  which  "was  sometimes  added  to  the 
feast,  especially  when  the  celebration  partook  of  a 
religious  character."  "On  such  occasions  a  slave 
was  sacrificed,  and  his  flesh,  elaborately  dressed, 
formed  one  of  the  chief  ornaments  of  the  banquet." 
In  the  latter  days  of  the  Aztec  reign  it  is  said  that 
"almost  every  festival  was  closed  with  this  cruel 
abomination." 

"Surely,"  observes  Prescott,  "never  were  refine- 
ment and  the  extreme  of  barbarism  brought  so 
closely  in  contact  with  each  other."  "In  this  state 
of  things,"  the  same  writer  at  length  says,  "it 
was    beneficently   ordered    by   Providence   that    the 


S&  BOOK  OP   MORMON 

land  should  be  delivered  over  to  another  race,  who 
would  rescue  it  from  the  brutish  superstitions  that 
daily  extended  wider  and  wider  with  extent  of 
empire."  The  Book  of  Mormon  records  a  prophecy 
which  declares  that  this  land  was  designed  by  God 
"a  choice  land,"  "above  all  other  lands;  wherefore, 
I  will  have  all  men  that  dwell  thereon,  that  they  shall 
worship  me,  saith  God."^  **And  if  it  so  be  that  they 
shall  keep  his  commandments,  they  shall  be  blessed 
upon  the  face  of  this  land."  *'But  behold,  when  the 
time  Cometh  that  they  shall  dwindle  in  unbelief,  .  ,  . 
the  judgments  of  him  that  is  just  shall  rest  upon 
them;  yea,  he  will  bring  other  nations  unto  them, 
and  he  will  take  away  from  them  the  lands  of  their 
possessions,  and  he  will  cause  them  to  be  scattered 
and  smitten."^  This  is  exactly  what  took  place  in 
history.  Europeans  came  over  here,  and  wrested 
the  lands  of  their  possession  away  from  the  Indians. 
The  governments  of  the  Aztecs,  and  of  the  Incas,  in 
South  America,  were  broken  up.  Truly  were  the 
people  "scattered  and  smitten,"  and  "other  nations" 
came  in  upon  them. 

INCA  CIVILTZATION. 
INCAS  NOT  THE  ORIGINAL  CIVILIZERS. 

Peru  was  not  the  native  name  of  the  ancient  nation 
in  South  America.  It  was  the  name  the  Span- 
iards gave  it.  "The  empire  of  Peru,  at  the  period  of 
the  Spanish  invasion,  stretched  along  the  Pacific  from 

»2  Nephi  7:  16,  large  edition;  7:  2,  small  edition. 
•2  Nephi  1:  ll-13t  large  edition;  1:  2,  small  edition. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  57 

about  the  second  degree  north  to  the  thirty -seventh 
degree  of  south  latitude."  This  boundary  line  took 
in  the  modern  republics  of  Chili,  Peru,  Bolivia,  and 
Ecuador.  ^ 

Like  the  Aztecs,  the  Incas  were  not  the  original 
civilizers  of  Peru.  We  are  told  that  the  "character  of 
the  Peruvian  mind  led  to  imitation,  in  fact,  rather 
than  invention. "2  Prescott  says:  "On  the  shores 
of  Lake  Titicaca  extensive  ruins  exist  at  the  present 
day,  which  the  Peruvians  themselves  acknowledge  to 
be  of  older  date  than  the  pretended  advent  of  the 
Incas,  and  to  have  furnished  them  with  the  models  of 
their  architecture."^  Baldwin  says:  "That  the  civ- 
ilization found  in  the  country  was  much  older  than 
the  Incas  can  be  seen  in  what  we  know  of  their  his- 
tory."* 

THE   CHARACTER  OF  THE  INCAS. 

The  Incas,  or  Peruvians,  were  a  branch  of  the 
same  race  as  the  Mexicans.  They  were  all  Indians. 
At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America  it  seems 
that  the  Mexicans  and  the  Peruvians  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  each  other.  Baldwin  offers  this  explanation : 
"The  first  migration  of  civilized  people  from  South 
America  (to  North  America)  must  have  taken  place 
at  a  very  distant  period  in  the  past,  for  it  preceded 
not  only  the  history  indicated  by  the  existing  antiq- 
uities, but  .also  an  earlier  history,  during  which  the 

» Conquest  of  Peru  (Universal  edition),  volume  1,  book  1,  chap- 
ter 1,  page  4. 

2 Ibid.,  chapter  5,  page  154. 
»Ibid.,  chapter  1,  pages  11,  13. 
*  Ancient  America,  page  270. 


58  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

Peruvians  and  Central  Americans  grew  to  be  as  (lif- 
erent from  their  ancestors  as  from  each  other. "^ 

The  Incas  were  quite  different  in  character  from 
the  Aztecs;  they  were  more  like  the  Tezcucans  and 
the  Mayas.  The  Aztecs  were  a  fierce,  determined 
people,  while  the  Incas  were  of  a  milder,  more  refined 
disposition.  Prescott  says:  **The  intellectual  char- 
acter of  the  Peruvians,  indeed,  seems  to  have  been 
marked  rather  by  a  tendency  to  refinement  than  by 
those  hardier  qualities  which  insure  success  in  the 
severer  walks  of  science,"  and  Delafield  describes 
them  as  being  behind  the  Mexicans  in  * 'prowess  and 
energy  of  character."  The  Aztecs  were  ahead  of 
the  Peruvians  in  science,  but  the  Peruvians  were 
superior  in  their  social  polity.  The  Peruvians  were, 
like  the  Aztecs,  a  warlike  people,  but  their  methods 
were  very  different,  as  was  their  treatment  of  the 
conquered.  Prescott  says  that  the  Aztec  monarchy 
**was  only  held  together  by  the  stern  pressure,  from 
without,  of  physical  force,"  but  the  Peruvians,  by 
their  kind  and  considerate  treatment  of  the  people 
they  conquered,  made  friends  of  them,  granting  them 
all  the  advantages  of  citizenship,  and  providing  for 
their  welfare.  The  vanquished  learned  to  **appreci- 
ate  the  value  of  a  government  which  raised  them 
above  the  physical  evils  of  a  state  of  barbarism, 
secured  to  them  protection  of  person,  .and  a  full 
participation  in  all  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  the 
conquered."^     The  most  considerate  care  was  taken 

"Ibid.,  page  246. 

•Conquest  of  Peru,  volume  1,  book  1,  chapter  3,  page  86. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  59 

to  provide  for  the  comfort  of  their  soldiers,  and  the 
soldiers,  in  turn,  were  strictly  forbidden  to  molest  or 
plunder  or  commit  any  depredation  to  the  inhabitants 
through  whose  territory  they  passed.  *'Any  violation 
of  this  order  was  punished  with  death.'*  They  went 
through  the  country  causing  as  little  inconvenience 
to  the  inhabitants  as  "holiday  soldiers  for  a  review." 

RELIGION. 

The  Peruvian  worship  was  not  of  so  revolting  a 
character  as  was  that  of  the  Aztecs.  They  offered 
sacrifices  which  consisted  mostly  of  **animals,  grain, 
flowers,  and  sweet-scented  gums."  On  rare  occa- 
sions, as  the  great  festival  Cachahuaca^  they  "cele- 
brated with  human  sacrifices."  Prescott  says  that 
the  Peruvians  never  indulged  in  cannibal  repasts 
like  the  Mexicans.  The  Peruvians  worshiped  the 
planets,  chief  among  them,  the  sun.  They  built 
temples  to  the  sun,  the  most  famous  one  being  at 
Cuzco.  The  interior  of  this  temple  was  "literally  a 
mine  of  gold."  It  was  called  Ooricancha,  or  "the 
Place  of  Gold."  "All  the  plate,  the  ornaments,  the 
utensils  of  every  description,  appropriated  to  the 
uses  of  religion,  were  of  gold  and  silver."  The  ewers 
which  held  water  for  sacrifice,  the  pipes  which  con- 
ducted water  to  the  temple,  and  the  reservoirs  that 
received  it ;  the  agricultural  implements  used  in  the 
gardens  of  the  temple,  "were  of  the  same  rich  mate- 
rial." "The  gardens,  like  those  described  belong- 
ing to  the  royal  palaces,  sparkled  with  flowers  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  various  imitations  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom.     Animals,  also,  were  to    be    found 


TO       ^  Bo«rK  OF    MORMOI^ 

th^re,  among  which  the  llama,  with  its  golden  fleece, 
.  .  .  executed  in   the   same  style."'' 

There  were  signs  that  the  people  before  the  Incas 
had  believed  in  and  worshiped  the  one  true  God,  but 
while  the  Peruvians  had  some  idea  of  a  Supreme 
Being,  they  did  not  worship  him.  Prescott  says: 
"No  temple  was  raised  to  this  invisible  Being,  save 
one  only  in  the  valley  which  took  its  name  from  the 
deity  himself,  not  far  from  the  Spanish  city  of  Lima. 
Even  this  temple  had  existed  there  before  the  coun- 
try came  under  the  sway  of  the  Incas. "^ 

Like  the  North  Americans,  the  Peruvians  had  a 
tradition  of  the.  Deluge,  and  the  same  authority 
tells  us :  "Among  the  traditions  of  importance  is  one 
of  the  Deluge,  which  they  held  in  common  with  so 
many  of  the  nations  in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  and 
which  they  related  with  some  particulars  that  bear 
resemblance  to  a  Mexican  legend."  "They  related 
that,  after  the  Deluge,  seven  persons  issued  from  a 
cave  where  they  had  saved  themselves,' and  by  them 
the  earth  was  repeopled."  "They  admitted  the  exist- 
ence of  the  soul  hereafter,  and  connected  with  this  a 
belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body.  They  assigned 
two  distinct  places  for  the  residence  of  the  good  and 
of  the  wicked."^ 

Delafield  says  that  there  were  regularly  occurring 
periods  which  were  observed  as  Sabbaths.  He  says 
there  is  some  obscurity  as  to  whether  the  period  was 
of  seven  or  of  nine  days,  but  that  "a  Sabbath  was 

»Ibid.,  chapter  S,  pages  108,  foot-note  on  109;  99-102. 
sibid.,  pages  93,  94. 

•Thirl      T^ao-AH  on    Q1 


Bibia.,  pages  ys,  y4 
•Ibid.,  pages  90,  91 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  61 

observed — a  day  of  rest  was  appointed  and  kept." 
He  asks,  ** Whence  could  this  custom  have  derived 
its  origin?"^  °  That  mysterious  personage,  the  Cul- 
ture Hero,  like  the  Quetzalcoatl  of  the  Mexicans, 
appears  in  Peruvian  traditions,  also.  He  has  the 
same  characteristics  attributed  to  him ;  he  came  mys- 
teriously; taught  the  arts  of  peace,  and  was  white. 
He  was  called  Viracocha  and  Boohica.  ^  * 

WRITING. 

The  Peruvians,  when  the  Europeans  found  them, 
did  not  have  the  art  of  writing.  They  had  a  means  of 
keeping  records,  however,  by  the  quippus,  a  curious 
method  or  contrivance  consisting  of  a  cord,  com- 
posed of  different  colored  threads,  **from  which  a 
quantity  of  smaller  threads  were  suspended  in  the 
manner  of  a  fringe.  The  threads  were  of  different 
colors,  and  were  tied  into  knots."  By  this  curious 
contrivance  the  revenues,  property,  supplies,  census, 
births,  deaths,  and  marriages  were  kept  account  of , 
and  forwarded  annually  to  the  capitol,  at  Cuzco. 
There  the  *' skeins  of  many  colored  threads"  were 
preserved,  and  **constituted  what  may  be  called  the 
national  archives."  Officers  were  appointed  in  each 
district,  called  "keepers  of  the  quipims,^*  whose  duty 
it  was  to  get  and  record  this  statistical  information, 
and  report  it  to  the  capitol.  Besides,  the  quippus 
was    used    for    arithmetical   calculations    with,    the 

i^Delafield's  Antiquities  of  America,  page  50. 

11  Conquest  of  Peru,  volume  1,  book  1,  chapter  3,  pages  89, 93; 
also  see  foot-notes  on  same  pages.  Antiquities  of  America, 
page  16. 


62  BOOK  OP   MORMON 

Spaniards  said,  remarkable  accuracy  and  rapidity  of 
execution.^* 

The  difference  between  the  Peruvians,  and  the 
Mexicans  and  Central  Americans  may  seem  strange, 
at  first  thought.  History  furnishes  numerous  illus- 
trations, however,  of  how  different  people  may  become 
when  separated  from  each  other,  and  situated  amid 
new  scenes,  under  different  conditions.  Indeed,  it  is 
said  that  there  are  strong  contrasts  in  dialect,  man- 
ners, and  customs  in  people  of  the  same  nation 
to-day.  But  it  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  Book 
of  Mormon  account,  the  Lamanite  occupation  of 
South  America,  especially  of  the  region  of  Peru,  was 
much  older  than  in  Central  America  and  Mexico, 
hence,  in  the  centuries  that  elapsed  after  the  Nephites 
were  driven  out,  there  was  plenty  of  time  for  their 
arts  to  have  been  forgotten  in  South  America.  This 
circumstance  may  be  significant  in  relation  with  the 
fact  that  the  Discoverers  found  writings  and  books  in 
Mexico  and  Central  America,  but  found  none  in  Peru, 
and  at  the  same  time,  offers  a  very  reasonable  expla- 
nation for  the  difference  between  the  people  of  the 
two  geographical  divisions  in  the  features  of  their 
civilization. 

But  there  were  signs  indicating  that  the  people 
before  the  Incas  must  have  had  the  art  of  writing. 
Baldwin  tells  us:  "Some  of  the  Peruvian  tongues 
had  names  for  paper;  the  people  knew  that  a  kind  of 
paper  or  parchment  could  be  made  of  plantain  leaves, 
and,   according   to   Montesinos,   writing  and  books 

12  Conquest  of  Peru,  volume  1,  book  1,  chapter  4,  pages  122, 
123. 


AND   ARCHEOLOGY.  63 

were  common  in  the  older  times,  that,  is  to  say,  in 
ages  long  previous  to  the  Incas.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  a  kind  of  hieroglyphical  writing  existed  in  some 
of  the  Peruvian  communities,  especially  among  the 
Aymaras.  Humboldt  mentions  books  of  hieroglyph- 
ical writing  found  among  the  Panoes,  on  the  River 
Ucayali,  which  were  bundles  of  their  paper  resem- 
bling our  volumes  in  quarto.  A  Franciscan  mis- 
sionary found  an  old  man  sitting  at  the  foot  of  a 
palm-tree  and  reading  one  of  these  books  to  several 
young  persons.  ...  It  was  seen  that  the  pages  of 
the  book  were  covered  with  figures  of  men,  animals, 
and  isolated  characters,  deemed  hieroglyphical,  and 
arranged  in  lines  with  order  and  symmetry.  The 
Panoes  said  these  books  were  transmitted  to  them  by 
their  ancestors.  .  .  .  There  is  similar  writing  on  a 
prepared  llama  skin  found  among  other  antiquities 
on  a  peninsula  in  Lake  Titicaca,  which  is  now  in  the 
museum  at  La  Paz,  Bolivia."^' 

SCHOOLS  AND   SCIENCE. 

Schools  were  not  so  general,  it  seems,  nor  so 
important  in  Peru  as  in  Mexico.  The  curriculum  was 
not  so  extended.  The  Peruvians  were  behind  the 
Mexicans  in  writing  and  book -making.  Neither  were 
they  so  advanced  in  science  as  the  Aztecs,  especially 
in  astronomy.  * 'Nevertheless  they  had  an  accurate 
measure  of  the  solar  year,"  says  Baldwin,  and  had 
"some  knowledge  of  the  planets."  But  just  how 
much  they  did  know  of  astronomy  is  uncertain.  He 
says  that  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  they  used 

» ■Ancient  America,  pages  255,  256. 


64  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

"aids  to  eyesight  in  studying  the  heavens."  Short 
says:  **A  silver  tube  found  in  Peru  represents  a 
man  in  the  act  of  studying  the  heavens  through  one 
of  these  tubes."  ^* 

Such  science  as  the  Peruvians  possessed,  how- 
ever, was  taught  in  their  schools,  the  advantages  of 
which  were  accessible  to  the  youth  of  the  nobility 
only.  **They  studied  the  laws,  and  the  principles 
of  administering  the  government."  **They  were 
initiated  in  the  peculiar  rites  of  their  religion." 
*'They  learned  also  to  emulate  the  achievements  of 
their  royal  ancestors  by  listening  to  the  chronicles 
compiled  by  the  amautas."  *'They  were  taught  to 
speak  their  own  dialect  with  purity  and  elegance,  and 
they  became  acquainted  with  the  mysterious  science 
of  quippus,  which  supplied  the  Peruvians  with  the 
means  of  communicating  their  ideas  to  one  another, 
and  of  transmitting  them  to  future  generations."^^ 
In  Mexico,  priests  taught  in  the  schools,  but  not  so  in 
Peru.  Their  teachers  were  called  amaw^as,  meaning 
learned  men,  or  **wise  men,"  who  were  trained  for 
the  professions  of  teaching,  and  their  memory  was 
educated  to  **retain  and  transmit  to  posterity  songs, 
historical  narratives,  and  long  historical  poems." 
The  history  of  the  empire,  which  was  chiefly  the 
history  of  the  reigning  Inca,  and  his  achievements, 
was  handed  down  in  this  way.  Men  were  appointed 
to  keep  record  of  events,  the  amautas  memorized  the 
accounts,  and  taught  them  to  the  youth.  Thus  his- 
tory was  conveyed,    **partly  by  oral  tradition   and 

1*  Ibid.,  piges  253, 254;  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  page  98. 
*»  Conqucbt  of  Pevu,  volume  1,  book  1,  chapter  4,  page  122. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  65 

partly  by  arbitrary  signs,"  suggested  by  the  quippus, 
which  aided  the  memory.  ^  ^ 

AGRICULTURE. 

Prescott  says,  **the  Incas  must  be  admitted  to  have 
surpassed  every  other  American  race  in  their  domin- 
ion over  the  earth.  "^"^  * 'Husbandry  was  pursued  by 
them  on  principles  that  may  be  truly  called  scien- 
tific."^ ^  *'A11  accounts  of  the  country  at  the  time  of 
the  Conquest  agree  in  the  statement  that  they  cul- 
tivated the  soil  in  a  very  admirable  way  and  with 
remarkable  success,  using  aqueducts  for  irrigation, 
and  employing  guano  as  one  of  the  most  important 
fertilizers.  Europeans  learned  from  them  the  value 
of  this  fertilizer.'*^"  Donnelly  says  they  carried 
irrigation  and  agriculture  **to  a  point  equal  to  that  of 
the  Old  World."^^  We  can  not  go  into  particulars  at 
such  length,  in  this  series,  as  to  describe  their 
achievements  in  agriculture,  but  all  writers  are 
enthusiastic  in  speaking  on  the  subject.  They  turned 
waste  places  into  fruitful  gardens.  It  was  seen  that 
the  water  furnished  by  irrigation  was  equally  distrib- 
uted, and  there  were  strict  laws  protecting  the  rights 
of  each  farmer  and  gardener  to  his  share  of  the  water 
supply.  Prescott  gives  this  comprehensive  picture: 
"By  a  judicious  system  of  canals  and  subterraneous 
aqueducts,  the  waste  places  on  the  coast  were 
refreshed  by  copious  streams,  that  clothed  them  in 

i«  Ibid.,  page  121;  Ancient  America,  page  265. 

1^  Conquest  of  Peru,  volume  1,  book  1,  chapter  4,  page  133. 

18  Ibid.,  page  133. 

i»  Ancient  America,  page  247. 

«•>  Atlantis,  page  395. 


66  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

fertility  and  beauty.  Terraces  were  raised  upon  the 
steep  sides  of  the  Cordillera;  and  as  the  different 
elevations  had  the  effect  of  difference  of  latitude,  they 
exhibited  in  regular  gradation  every  variety  of  vege- 
table form,  from  the  stimulated  growth  of  the  tropics 
to  the  temperate  products  of  a  northern  clime ;  while 
flocks  of  llamas — the  Peruvian  sheep — wandered  with 
their  shepherds  over  the  broad  snow -covered  wastes 
on  the  crests  of  the  sierra,  which  rose  above  the 
limits  of  cultivation.  An  industrious  population  set- 
tled along  the  lofty  regions  of  the  plateaus,  and 
towns  and  hamlets,  clustered  amidst  orchards  and 
wide -spreading  gardens,  seemed  suspended  in  the 
air  far  above  the  ordinary  elevation  of  the  clouds." ^^ 

MANUFACTORIES. 

**They  had  great  proficiency  in  the  arts  of  spin- 
ning, weaving,  and  dyeing,"  says  Baldwin.  ^^ 
**Their  works  in  cotton  and  wool  exceeded  in  fine- 
ness anything  known  in  Europe  at  that  time,"  says 
Donnelly.^*'  They  manufactured  cloth  from  wool 
and  cotton,  and  were  also  expert  in  the  beautiful 
feather  work  "which  they  held  of  less  account  than 
the  Mexicans,  from  the  superior  quality  of  the  mate- 
rials for  other  fabrics  which  they  had  at  their  com- 
mand." The  finest  variety  of  their  wool  cloth  was 
the  vicuna,  and  none  but  an  Inca  noble  could  wear 
this  fabric.  So  beautiful  was  this  cloth,  so  delicately 
and  richly  colored,  that  the  "Spanish  sovereigns," 

21  Conquest  of  Peru,  volume  1,  book  1,  chapter  1,  page  7. 
2  2  Ancient  America,  page  247. 
2  8  Atlantis,  page  395. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  67 

we  are  told,  "with  all  the  luxuries  of  Europe  and  Asia 
at  their  command,  did  not  disdain  to  use  it."^* 
Again,  Prescott  tells  us:  **The  Peruvians  showed 
great  skill  in  the  manufacture  of  different  articles  for 
the  royal  household  from  this  delicate  material, 
which,  under  the  name  of  vigonia  wool,  is  now 
familiar  to  the  looms  of  Europe.  It  was  wrought 
into  shawls,  robes,  and  other  articles  of  dress  for  the 
monarch,  and  into  carpets,  coverlets,  and  hangings 
for  the  imperial  palaces  and  the  temples.  The  cloth 
was  finished  on  both  sides  alike;  the  delicacy  of  the 
texture  was  such  as  to  give  it  the  lustre  of  silk;  and 
the  brilliancy  of  the  dyes  excited  the  admiration  and 
the   envy  of  the  European  artisans." ^^ 

They  manufactured  jewelry  and  ornaments;  "uten- 
sils of  every  description,  some  of  fine  clay,  and  many 
more  of  copper;  mirrors  of  a  hard,  polished  stone,  or 
burnished  silver,  with  a  great  variety  of  other  arti- 
cles, .  .  .  evincing  as  much  ingenuity  as  taste  or 
inventive  talent. "  ^  * 

Mr.  Kirk,  in  an  editorial  foot-note,***  says  that 
Prescott  does  not  even  do  Peruvian  pottery  justice, 
highly  as  he  speaks  of  it.  Baldwin  says:  "They 
had  great  skill  in  the  art  of  working  metals,  espe- 
cially gold  and  silver.  Besides  these  precious  metals, 
they  had  copper,  tin,  lead,  and  quicksilver.'*  "Their 
goldsmiths  and  silversmiths  had  attained  very  great 
proficiency.     They  could  melt  the  metals  in  furnaces, 

**  Conquest  of  Peru,  volume  1,  book  1,  chapter  1,  page  31. 
26  Ibid.,  page  152. 
*»  Ibid.,  page  154. 
"  Ibid.,  163. 


68  BOOK   OF    MORMON 

cast  them  in  molds  of  clay  and  gypsum,  hammer 
their  work  with  remarkable  dexterity,  inlay  it,  and 
solder  it  with  great  perfection." ^^  Their  skill  in  the 
cutting  of  gems  was  "equal  to  that  of  the  Old 
World,"  says  Donnelly. ^^  They  made  a  metal  by 
mixing  tin  and  copper  that  was  almost  as  hard  as 
steel,   which  material  was  largely  used  for  tools.  ^^ 

"The  remains  of  their  works  show  what  they  were 
as  builders,"  says  Baldwin.  "Their  skill  in  cutting 
stone  and  their  wonderful  masonry  can  be  seen  and 
admired  by  modern  builders  in  what  is  left  of  their 
aqueducts,  their  roads,  their  temples,  and  their  other 
great  edifices.  "^  *    Prescott  says  that  the  architecture 

81  Ancient  America,  page  247. 
of  the  Incas  was  characterized  "by  simplicity,  sym- 
metry, and  solidity."  Commenting  on  what  Prescott 
has  to  say  on  Peruvian  architecture,  the  editor,  Mr. 
Kirk,  in  a  foot-note,  declares:  "In  the  foregoing 
remarks  the  author  has  scarce  done  justice  to  the 
artistic  character  of  the  Peruvian  architecture,  its 
great  superiority  to  the  Mexicans,  and  the  resem- 
blances which  it  offers,  in  style  and  development,  to 
the  early  stages  of  Greek  and  Egyptian  art."^* 

WEALTH   OF  PERU. 

The  wealth  of  Peru  is  never  overlooked  by  writel's. 
So  common  was  gold  that  "temples  and  palaces  were 
covered  with  it,  and  it  was  very  beautifully  wrought 

2«  Ancient  America,  pages  248,  249. 
*»  Atlantis,  page  395. 

so  Conquest  of  Peru,  volume  1,  book  1,  chapter  5,  page  155. 
SI  Ancient  America,  page  247. 

'^Conquest  of  Peru,  volume  1,  book  1,  chapter  5,  page  163, 
foot-note. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  69 

into  ornaments,  temple  furniture,  articles  for  house- 
hold use,  and  imitations  of  almost  every  object  in 
nature.  In  the  course  of  twenty -five  years  after  the 
Conquest,  the  Spaniards  sent  from  Peru  to  Spain 
more  than  four  hundred  million  ducats  ($800,000,000) 
worth  of  gold."  ^^  **The  value  of  the  jewels  which 
adorned  the  temples  was  equal  to  one  hundred  and 
eighty  millions  of  dollars. "^^  When  the  Spaniards 
held  the  Inca  ruler  prisoner  he  promised  them,  if 
they  would  give  him  his  freedom,  that  he  would 
cover  the  floor  with  gold  (it  is  stated  that  the  room 
was  seventeen  feet  broad,  by  twenty -two  feet  long). 
The  Spaniards  smiled  incredulously,  at  which  the 
monarch  declared  that  he  would  fill  the  room  with 
gold  as  high  as  he  could  reach,  and  a  line  was  drawn 
around  the  wall  which  was  nine  feet  from  the  floor. 
He  also  agreed  to  fill  a  small  room,  adjoining,  with 
silver.  The  gold  and  silver  were  not  to  be  melted 
into  ingots,  but  to  retain  the  original  form  of  the 
articles  into  which  the  metals  had  been  manufac- 
tured. The  monarch  forthwith  sent  out  messengers 
to  the  principal  places  of  his  kingdom  to  collect  the 
precious  metals.  He  fulfilled  his  promise,  but  the 
Spaniards  did  not  keep  theirs,  and  he  was  put  to 
death.3* 

PUBLIC   WORKS. 

Prescott    says:      "Those    who   may    distrust    the 
accounts  of  Peruvian  industry  will  find  their  doubts 

8  3  Ancient  America,  p.  250. 

8  4  Atlantis,  p.  346. 

■»  Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  1,  book  3,  chap.  5,  pp.  421,  423. 


70  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

removed  on  a  visit  to  the  country.  The  traveler  still 
meets,  especially  in  the  central  regions  of  the  table- 
land, with  memorials  of  the  past,  remains  of  temples, 
palaces,  fortresses,  terraced  mountains,  great  military 
roads,  aqueducts,  and  other  public  works."^*  No 
feature  of  Peruvian  civilization  is  more  famous  in 
history  than  their  roads.  "Humboldt  pronounced 
these  Peruvian  roads  'among  the  most  useful  and 
stupendous  works  ever  executed  by  man,' "  says 
Donnelly. 3  "^  **One  of  these  roads  passed  over  the 
Grand  Plateau."  "It  was  conducted  over  pathless 
sierras  buried  in  snow ;  galleries  were  cut  for  leagues 
through  the  living  rock;  rivers  were  crossed  by 
means  of  bridges  that  swung  suspended  in  the  air ; 
precipices  were  scaled  by  stairways  hewn  out  of  the 
native  bed;  ravines  of  hideous  depth  were  filled  up 
with  solid  masonry."  "The  length  of  the  road  .  .  . 
is  estimated  at  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand 
miles."  Its  breadth  was  about  twenty  feet.  "It 
was  built  of  heavy  flags  of  freestone,  and  in  some 
parts  at  least,  was  covered  with  a  bituminous  cement, 
which  time  has  made  harder  than  the  stone  itself. 
In  some  places,  where  the  ravines  had  been  filled 
up  with  masonry,  the  mountain  torrents,  wearing  on 
it  for  ages,  have  gradually  eaten  a  way  through  the 
base,  and  left  the  superincumbent  mass — such  is  the 
cohesion  of  the  materials — still  spanning  the  valley 
like  an  arch!"^®  Where  it  was  necessary  to  carry 
their  roads  over  streams  they  built  suspension  bridges 

8«  Ibid. ,  book  1,  chap.  2,  p.  64. 

8  7  Atlantis,  p.  141. 

»8  Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  2,  pp.  65,  66. 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  71 

to  do  so.^®  Donnelly  says  that  they  also  built  **mag- 
nificent  bridges  of  stone,"  and  that  their  suspension 
bridges  were  * 'thousands  of  years"  before  the  idea 
*Vas  introduced  into  Europe.  "**• 

Scattered  along  Peruvian  highways  were  places  of 
accommodation  for  the  soldiery  and  traveler  like  our 
*'taverns,"  or  ''hotels, "  as  Donnelly  speaks  of 
them.*^  There  were  also  storehouses  or  magazines, 
from  which  the  troops  were  supplied  as  they  passed 
through  the  country,  so  well  was  every  demand  met 
and  everything  systemized. 

SAILBOAT  AND  POSTS. 

The  Peruvians  used  a  sailboat,  called  balsas,  with 
which  they  navigated  the  larger  streams  and  bodies 
of  water.** 

The  Peruvian  posts,  or  system  of  communication, 
was  like  the  Mexican  system,  only  more  extended. 
Prescott  comments  that  "it  is  remarkable  that  this 
important  institution  should  have  been  known  to  both 
the  Mexicans  and  the  Peruvians,"*^  since  there  was 
no  communication  between  the  nations,  nor  even 
knowledge  of  each  other  when  the  Europeans  found 
them.  We  shall  see  in  a  future  chapter,  however, 
the  evidence  there  is  to  show  that  such  a  condition 
had  not  always  existed.  Their  system  of  posts  was 
equal  to  that  of  the  Persians  and  the  Romans,  says 
Donnelly,**   and  Prescott  remarks  that  "while  the 

89  Ibid.,  p.  66. 

*o Atlantis,  p.  141;  also  see  Conquest  of  Peru,  p.  75. 

*»Ibid. 

*2  Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  2,  p.  67. 

<8lbid.,  pp.  70,  71. 

*<Atlantis,  p.  141. 


72  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

Capitols  of  Christendom,  but  a  few  hundred  miles 
apart,  remained  as  far  asunder  as  if  seas  had  rolled 
between  them,  the  great  capitols  Cuzco  and  Quito 
were  placed  by  the  high  roads  of  the  Incas  in  imme- 
diate correspondence."*^  It  would  take  too  much 
space  to  describe  this  system  of  posts  here.  The 
reader  is  referred  to  "Conquest  of  Peru,"  and  **Con- 
quest  of  Mexico,"  for  accounts  of  this  system  of  the 
Peruvians  and  the  Mexicans. 

SOCIAL    POLITY. 

It  is  when  we  come  to  the  social  polity  of  the 
Peruvians  that  we  meet  with  the  most  remarkable 
features  of  their  civilization,  perhaps.  Consider  such 
statements  as,  there  were  no  poor  among  them;  all 
were  provided  with  the  necessities  of  life;  all  had 
homes.  There  was  no  famine,  *'so  common  at  that 
period  in  every  country  of  civilized  Europe."  Nev- 
ertheless, this  is  declared  to  have  been  the  case,  and 
the  following  description  is  from  the  account  given 
by  Prescott.*^ 

After  certain  lands,  reserved  for  the  support  of  the 
Inca  and  the  state,  "the  remainder  of  the  lands  was 
divided,  per  capita,  in  equal  shares  among  the  people. 
It  was  provided  by  law  .  .  .  that  every  Peruvian 
should  marry  at  a  certain  age.  When  this  event 
took  place  the  community  or  district  in  which  he  lived 
furnished  him  with  a  dwelling.  ...  A  lot  of  land 
was  then  assigned  to  him  sufficient  for  his  own 
maintenance   and  that  of  his  wife.     An   additional 

*^  Conquest  of  Peru,  p.  71. 
*«Ibid.,  pp.  51,53,55-60. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  73 

portion  was  granted  for  every  child.  .  .  .  The  divi- 
sion of  the  soil  was  renewed  every  year,  and  the 
possessions  of  the  tenant  were  increased  or  dimin- 
ished according  to  the  numbers  in  his  family." 

There  was  corresponding  division  of  labor.  Each 
one  did  not  attend  to  his  own  interests,  only,  but 
each  one  did  his  share  in  the  common  work  to  be 
done.  First  the  people,  all  the  people,  turned  out 
and  cultivated  the  lands  reserved  for  the  support  of 
the  temples  and  religious  worship.  These  lands  are 
referred  to  as  belonging  to  the  Sun,  because  the 
people  were  Sun  worshipers.  Next,  they  "tilled  the 
lands  of  the  old,  of  the  sick,  of  the  widow  and  the 
orphan,  and  of  soldiers  engaged  in  actual  service.'* 
**The  people  were  then  allowed  to  work  on  their  own 
ground,  each  man  for  himself,  but  with  the  general 
obligation  to  assist  his  neighbor  when  under  any 
circumstances — the  burden  of  a  young  and  numerous 
family,  for  instance — might  demand  it.  Lastly,  they 
cultivated  the  lands  of  the  Inca." 

When  time  came  to  shear  the  sheep  the  wool  was 
**dealt  out  to  each  family  in  such  quantities  as  suf- 
ficed for  his  wants."  "When  the  clothing  for  the 
family  was  made,  "the  people  were  required  to  labor 
for  the  Inca."  Officers  kept  oversight,  from  time  to 
time,  to  see  that  the  work  was  faithfully  done,  to  see 
"that  each  household  should  employ  the  materials 
furnished  for  its  own  use  in  the  manner  that  was 
intended,  so  that  no  one  should  be  unprovided  with 
necessary  apparel." 

"Occupation  was  found  for  all,  from  the  child  five 
years  old  to  the  aged  matron  not  too  infirm  to  hold  a 


74  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

distaff."  "The  different  provinces  of  the  country- 
furnished  persons  peculiarly  suited  to  different 
employment."  "No  one  was  required  to  give  more 
than  a  stipulated  portion  of  his  time  to  the  public 
service,"  when  another  took  his  place,  and  so  on. 
"By  this  constant  rotation  of  labor  it  was  intended 
that  no  one  should  be  overburdened,"  nor  have  to 
neglect  his  own  needs.  While  employed  for  the 
government  on  any  work,  the  artisan  was  maintained 
at  public  expense.  Famine  was  avoided  by  storing 
the  surplus  products  of  the  field  and  manufacture  in 
magazines,  in  times  of  plenty,  to  be  distributed 
among  the  people  in  time  of  misfortune.  The  Span- 
iards found  these  magazines  stored  with  supplies  of 
all  kinds. 

The  criticism  has  been  made  of  the  Peruvian  social 
system  that  it  permitted  little  or  no  scope  for  indi- 
viduality, and  interfered  with  personal  freedom. 
"They  could  follow  no  craft,"  we  are  told,  "could 
engage  in  no  labor,  no  amusement,  but  such  as  was 
specially  provided  by  law.  They  could  not  change 
their  residence  or  their  dress  without  a  license  from 
the  government."  Their  whole  life  was  a  fixed  rou- 
tine. A  man  could  not  advance  from  the  station  in 
which  he  was  born.  The  people  were  treated  as 
dependencies  of  the  government.  "The  sovereign 
was  placed  at  an  immeasurable  distance  above  his 
subjects."  "As  the  representative  of  the  Sun,  he 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  priesthood,  and  presided 
at  the  most  important  of  the  religious  festivals.  He 
raised  armies."  "He  imposed  taxes,  made  laws,  and 
provided  for  their  execution  by  the  appointment  of 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  75 

judges,  whom  he  removed  at  pleasure.  He  was  the 
source  from  which  everything  flowed, — all  dignity, 
all  power,  all  emolument.  He  was  in  short,  .  .  . 
'himself  the  state.'  "^"^  The  Inca  was  believed  to  be 
incapable  of  crime,  and  was  regarded  with  supersti- 
tious reverence.  He  was  the  ruler,  spiritually  and 
temporally.  Prescott  says:  * 'We  shall  look  in  vain 
in  the  history  of  the  East  for  a  parallel  to  the  absolute 
control  exercised  by  the  Incas  over  their  subjects; 
that  there  is  no  precedent  in  history,  to  such  an 
extent,  of  combined  authority  of  opinion  and  posi- 
tive power"  in  the  ruler.  *^ 

Between  the  nobility  and  the  people  there  was  a 
wide  gulf.  "They  were  distinguished  by  many  exclu- 
sive privileges."  They  lived  in  a  pomp  and  style 
high  above  the  common  people.  They  "filled  every 
station  of  high  trust  and  emolument."  Knowledge 
and  education  were  the  privileges  of  the  aristocracy. 
"Science  was  not  intended  for  the  people,  but  for 
those  of  generous  blood,"  was  a  favorite  maxim  of 
one  of  the  Incas.  Yet,  the  Spanish  writers  testify, 
the  common  people  were  contented  and  happy. 
"The  laws  were  carefully  directed  to  their  preserva- 
tion and  personal  comfort.  The  people  were  not 
allowed  to  be  employed  on  works  pernicious  to  their 
health,  nor  to  pine  .  .  .  under  the  imposition  of  tasks 
too  heavy  for  their  powers.  They  were  never  made 
the  victims  of  public  or  private  extortion;  and  a 
benevolent  forecast  watched  carefully  over  their 
necessities,  and  provided   for  their  relief  in  seasons 

*''  Ibid.,  chap.  1,  p.  26. 

*«  Ibid.,  chap.  5,  pp.  168,  171. 


76  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

of  infirmity,  and  for  their  sustenance  in  health.  The 
government  of  the  Incas,  however  arbitrary  in  form, 
was  in  its  spirit  truly  patriarchal."*®  We  are 
informed  that  the  Spanish  government  sent  men  **of 
high  judicial  station  and  character"  to  South  America 
to  study  the  institutions  of  Peru.*° 

Writers  speak  of  the  Peruvian  system  as  being 
"remarkable."  It  was  all  of  that  at  the  least,  and 
certainly  presents  an  interesting  subject  for  study. 
It  was  of  a  heterogeneous  character  as  was  the  rest  of 
the  civilization  found  here  by  the  Europeans.  Good 
institutions  are  not  inherited  from  bad  ones,  but  good 
systems,  left  to  an  inferior  people,  will  become  cor- 
rupted and  mixed  with  their  imperfections.  The 
blending  in  the  same  government,  of  such  kindly 
consideration  with  such  despotism  is  without  prece- 
dent in  history.  Under  other  governments  as  des- 
potic, and  where  the  classes  have  been  as  widely 
separated,  enjoying  as  unequal  opportunities  and 
privileges,  there  has  been,  ...  at  the  same  time,  no 
such  thought  or  provision  for  the  material  welfare  of 
the  common  people.  On  the  other  hand,  a  govern- 
ment that  is  framed  for  the  good  of  all  the  people, 
irrespectively,  acknowledging  no  hereditary  claims 
to  distinction,  is  based  upon  the  sovereignty  of 
the  individual.  But  in  the  Peruvian  system  we  find 
that  a  condition  of  general  physical  welfare  existed 
that  is  not  had  under  the  most  liberal  and  enlightened 
governments  to-day,  and  at  the  same  time,  as  indif- 
erent  an  estimate  of  the  moral  rights  and  dignity  of 

*»  Ibid.,  p.  170. 

»o  Ibid.,  chap.  2,  p.  61. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  77 

the  individual  as  was  ever  held  under  the  most  des- 
potic and  aristocratic  government.  Such  a  state  of 
things  could  only  point  back  to  a  time,  a  people,  that 
must  have  been  more  consistently  and  symmetrically 
developed,  as  antiquarians  declare  was  the  case;  to 
a  people  directed  by  principles,  the  genius  of  which 
must  have  been  the  spirit  and  philosophy  of  true 
brotherhood. 

WHO  WERE   THE  INCAS? 

The  Incas,  in  themselves,  present  an  interesting 
subject  for  study,  and  such  information  as  scientific 
investigation  has  been  able  to  gain  about  them  but 
contributes  added  evidence  on  the  side  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon.  Prescott  stops  to  ask,  in  wonderment, 
who  the  Incas  were;  whence  they  came.  The  inter- 
pretation of  Inca  is  "lord,  ruler,"  but,  we  are 
informed,  the  name  was  applied  to  all  males 
descended  from  the  rulers,  from  the  founder  of  the 
monarchy.  As  the  Peruvian  monarchs  were  polyga- 
mists,  leaving  behind  them  families  of  **one  or  even 
two  hundred  children,"  the  descendants  became  very 
numerous,  and  constituted  the  first  order  of  the 
nobility.  ^^ 

The  Peruvian  empire  was  made  up  of  different 
families,  or  tribes  of  people,  but  the  Incas  were  an 
exclusive  class,  holding  themselves  above  all  the 
others.  "Distinguished  by  a  pecuUar  dress  and 
insignia,  as  well  as  by  language  and  blood,"  says 
Prescott,  "from  the  rest  of  the  community,  they  were 
never  confounded  with  the  other  tribes  and  nations 

•»  Ibid.,  chapter  1,  pages  23,  36,  37. 


78  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

who  were  incorporated  into  the  great  Peruvian  mon- 
archy. After  the  lapse  of  centuries  they  still  retained 
their  individuality  as  a  peculiar  people."  *'They 
possessed,  moreover,  an  intellectual  preeminence 
which,  no  less  than  their  station,  gave  them  authority 
with  the  people.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said  to  have  been 
the  principal  foundation  of  their  authority."^ ^  It 
will  be  remembered  that  in  a  previous  chapter,  we 
called  attention  to  the  influence  that  Nephite  seces- 
sionists always  had  with  the  Lamanites  for  these 
very  reasons,  and  there  was  no  doubt  a  large  admix- 
ture of  Nephite  blood  in  the  families  of  South 
America.  The  account  reads  that  when  Mosiah  left 
the  city  Nephi,  it  was  only  the  righteous  that  went 
with  him.  The  unfaithful  remained  behind,  in 
Lamanite  dominion,  as  that  part  of  the  country  now 
become.  Besides  these,  at  intervals  along  the  sub- 
sequent course  of  their  history,  there  were  other 
acquisitions  from  the  ranks  of  the  Nephites,  as  was 
explained  about  in  the  previous  chapter  referred  to 
before. 

In  these  circumstances,  we  believe,  the  mystery  of 
the  Incas  is  solved ;  at  least,  it  is  a  better  theory  for 
their  origin  than  science  has  been  able  to  hit  upon ; 
a  theory  that  meets  every  requirement  in  the  case, 
and  if  the  skeptic  does  not  want  to  credit  it,  what 
reasons  will  he  give  for  the  merits  of  it — that  the  sup- 
position deduced  from  the  Book  of  Mormon  narrative 
should  so  remarkably  account  for  the  character  of 
the  Incas?    Investigation  about  the  Incas,  however, 

»2  Ibid.,  pp.  39,  40. 


AND   ARCHEOLOGY.  79 

has  revealed  more  than  simply  the  manner  of  people 
that  they  were.  We  have  some  clue  to  their  origin 
which,  though  little,  is  very  significant.  They  spoke 
the  Quichua  language,  *'the  richest  and  most  com- 
prehensive of  the  South  American  dialects,"^ ^  we 
are  informed.  The  Quichuas,  Donnelly  tells  us,  were 
a  superior  people,  belonging  to  the  period  of  higher 
civilization  that  preceded  the  Incas.  The  Incas  suc- 
ceeded the  Quichuas,  and  were  an  **off shoot"  from 
them.  We  are  given  the  further  important  intelli- 
gence that  the  Quichuas  were  a  * 'fair- skinned  race, 
with  blue  eyes  and  light  and  even  auburn  hair." 
The  Incas  are  described  as  having  been  a  lighter 
people  than  the  average  Indian.  Donnelly  says  that 
the  descendants  of  the  Quichuas  "are  to  this  day  an 
olive -skinned  people,  much  lighter  than  the  Indian 
tribes  subjugated  by  them."** 

-3  Ibid.,  chip.  2,  p.  81. 
6  4  Atlantis,  pp.  391,  392, 


PART  II. 

THE   CIVILIZATION    BEFORE  THE  AZTECS  AND 
THE    INCAS. 

rr  WAS  A  HIGHER  CIVILIZATION. 

In  the  study  of  the  people  whom  the  Discoverers 
found  here,  and  their  civilization — the  incongruous 
nature  of  it;  the  inconsistent  mixture  of  refinement 
and  barbarism ;  the  fact  that  the  people  did  not  create 
or  develop  the  arts  they  enjoyed;  that  they  could  not 
give  account  of  the  origin  of  the  more  superior  of  the 
institutions  among  them;  the  traditions  they  pre- 
served of  other  days  and  greater  power;  the  traces 
found  among  them  of  lost  arts  and  a  superior  culture 
— all  these  things  point  backwards,  and  argue  that 
before  the  Aztecs  and  the  Incas  there  must  have  been 
a  people  of  a  higher  type ;  a  civilization  that  was  of  a 
finer  character  and  more  advanced  in  arts,  skill,  and 
industry. 

The  ruins  of  North  and  South  America,  however, 
present  the  most  important  evidence,  without  which 
antiquarians  would  be  slow  to  form  conclusions  about 
the  more  remote  civilization  of  America  from  the 
accounts  of  the  nations  discovered  by  the  Spaniards 
in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  Peru.  Whatever 
has  been  found  in  the  character  and  the  institutions 
of  these  nations  indicating  an  earlier  and  higher  civi- 
lization has  been  borne  out  by  the  silent  testimony 
of  the  ruins.     Through  centuries  they  have  stood  as 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  81 

indisputable  witnesses  to  declare  to  the  world  that 
there  had  been  a  civilization  in  America  older  than 
that  of  the  Aztecs  and  the  Incas,  and  superior  to  it. 

We  are  told  of  cities  in  Central  America  that  were 
deserted  long  before  the  beginning  of  the  Aztec 
period;  that  were  hidden  in  dense  forests,  and  had 
been  forgotten  by  the  time  the  Spaniards  came.  Of 
the  famous  cities  of  Palenque,  Ococingo,  and  Copan, 
Bancroft  says:  *'The  natives  of  the  neighboring 
region  knew  nothing  of  their  origin  even  if  they  were 
aware  of  their  existence,  and  no  notice  whatever  of 
the  existence  of  such  cities  appears  in  the  annals  of 
the  surrounding  civilized  nations  during  the  eight  or 
nine  centuries  preceding  the  Conquest."  Mr.  Ban- 
croft further  says  that  the  nation  that  built  Palenque 
"was  not  one  of  those  found  by  Europeans  in  the 
country,"  but  was  a  nation  whose  **greatness  had 
practically  departed  before  the  Quiche,  Cakchiquel, 
and  Yucatan  powers,"  Maya  nations  of  the  Aztec 
period.*  All  archaeologists  agree  with  Professor 
Baldwin  who  tells  us  that  the  older  ruins  were  of 
superior  character  to  those  of  the  latter  period.^ 

Speaking  of  the  people  before  the  Aztec  era,  Ban- 
croft says  of  the  Toltecs,  that  the  name  came  to  be 
** synonymous  with  all  that  is  excellent  in  art,"^  while 
of  another  people  whom  modern  historians  rank  as 
older,  and  call  Colhuas,  Baldwin  says,  *'They  seem  to 

*  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States,  vol.  5,  p.  167;  also  see 
Ancient  America,  p.  93. 

2" Some  of  the  oldest  and  most  mysterious  monuments  seem- 
ing to  indicate  the  highest  development."  Ancient  America,  p. 
78;  also  see  p.  156. 

3  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  240. 


82  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

have  been,  in  some  respects,  more  advanced  in  civili- 
zation than  the  Toltecs."*  "We  have  caught  tradi- 
tional glimpses  far  back  in  the  misty  past  of  a  mighty 
aboriginal  empire  in  these  tropical  lands,''  says  Ban- 
croft, which  the  material  ruins  of  Palenque,  Copan, 
**and  their  companions  in  ruins,"  prove  to  be  "no 
mere  creation  of  the  imagination."^  "A  nation  has 
passed  away,"  says  Prescott,  "powerful,  populous, 
and  well  advanced  in  refinement,  as  attested  by  their 
monuments,  but  it  has  perished  without  a  name.  It 
has  died  and  made  no  sign."^ 

Down  in  South  America,  we  are  told  by  Prescott, 
there  were  "extensive  ruins"  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Titicaca  "which  the  Peruvians,  themselves,  acknowl- 
edge to  be  of  older  date  than  the  pretended  advent  of 
the  Incas,  and  to  have  furnished  them  with  the  models 
of  their  architecture."""  The  name  by  which  some 
writers  speak  of  the  civilization  that  preceded  the 
Incas  is  Quichua.  "They  were  a  great  race,"  says 
Donnelly.  "Peru,  as  it  was  known  to  the  Spaniards, 
held  very  much  the  same  relation  to  the  ancient 
Quichua  civilization  as  England  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury held  to  the  civilization  of  the  Caesars."  "The 
Quichua  nation  extended  at  one  time  over  a  region 
of  country  more  than  two  thousand  miles  long." 
Speaking  of  the  ruins  at  a  place  called  Gran-Chimu, 
Donnelly    informs    us    that  there    were    found    the 

*  Ancient  America,  p.  199. 
^  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  157. 

6  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  2,  book  5,  chap.  4,  p.  379.  (Uni- 
verspJ  edition.) 

7  Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  1,  p.  11.  (Universal 
edition.) 


AND   ARCHEOLOGY.  83 

remains  of  tombs,  temples,  palaces,  water-tanks, 
shops,  municipal  edifices,  dwellings,  prisons,  fur- 
naces for  smelting  metals,  *'and  almost  every  con- 
comitant of  civilization,"^  and  this  is  but  one 
instance. 

DIFFERENT  PERIODS. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  amply- 
supported  in  its  general  historic  claim  that  there  was 
an  ancient  civilization  in  America.  But  the  book 
describes  different  civilizations  by  different  peoples; 
there  was  the  Jaredite  era,  and  then  the  Nephite 
era,  after  which  the  conquering  Lamanites  reigned 
supreme.  The  Jaredites  confined  themselves  to 
North  America,  while  the  Nephites  occupied  both 
divisions,  as  did  also  their  successors.  This  last 
period  we  have  recognized  in  the  times  of  the  Aztecs 
and  the  Incas,  and  while,  as  we  have  seen,  the  evi- 
dence clearly  shows  that  both  North  and  South 
America  had  a  history  anterior  to  the  Aztec  and  the 
Inca  period,  our  young  students  must  be  prepared  to 
find  much  difference  of  opinion  among  scientific  gen- 
tlemen in  regard  to  the  divisions  of  that  history.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  there  is  so  little,  if  any- 
thing, to  speak  directly  for  that  remote  stretch  of 
time,  that  all  that  scientists  can  do  is  to  speculate 
about  it,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  there  should  be 
diversity  of  opinion  among  them.  It  will  be  seen, 
however,  further  on,  that  in  the  very  reason  why 
theories  differ,  there  is  remarkable  vindication  of 
Book  of  Mormon  assertions.     Leading  authorities  do 

•  See  Atlantis,  pp.  391-393. 


84  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

not  hesitate  to  declare  that  there  were  different  peo- 
ples and  correspondingly  different  periods  of  civiliza- 
tion preceding  the  Aztec  and  the  Inca  period,  and 
those  who  oppose  this  position  are  unable  to  maintain 
their  ground.  Take,  for  instance,  Charnay,  and 
notice  how  the  evidence  he  presents  contradicts  his 
own  theory,  and  he  is  often  compelled,  himself,  to 
admit  the  fact,  indirectly. 

Because  of  the  similarity  in  the  ruins  of  North 
America,  Charnay  thinks  they  must  all  be  attributed 
to  the  same  people  whom,  he  says,  were  the  Toltecs, 
and  indeed,  he  is  both  right  and  wrong,  according 
to  the  Book  of  Mormon.  The  Nephites  reinhabited 
the  regions  of  the  Jaredites,  built  upon  the  ruins  of 
their  predecessors,  no  doubt,  and  Nephite  individu- 
ality was  spread  through  the  country.  The  anti- 
quarian who,  because  of  the  difference  he  finds  in 
the  ruins  says  that  they  did  not  belong  to  *ii^  same 
people  is  right,  to  be  sure,  while  the  one  whc  because 
of  the  resemblances  he  finds,  says  the  ruins  represent 
one  people,  is  right  in  a  sense  also.  This  is  why  we 
remarked,  a  while  ago,  that  there  is  harmony  with 
the  Book  of  Mormon  in  the  seeming  discord  among 
authorities  on  this  question.  Charnay  himself,  how- 
ever, points  out  that  there  are  striking  differences  in 
the  ruins.  He  often  notes  the  mixture  of  styles  in 
the  same  buildings,  as,  for  instance,  speaking  of  a 
ruin  called  the  * 'Nunnery,"  at  Chichen-Itza  (in  the 
northeastern  part  of  Yucatan),  he  says:  *'In  this 
building  are  curious  traces  of  masonry  out  of  charac- 
ter with  the  general  structure,  showing  the  place  to 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  85 

have  been  occupied  at  two  different  epochs."' 
Again,  although  this  writer  would  have  us  to  believe 
that  the  ancient  ruins  belonged  to  the  same  people, 
and  accounts  for  the  contrasts  that  occur  as  marking 
different  stages  of  advancement  of  the  same  people, 
yet  he  tells  us  that  the  ruins  of  Mitla  bear  no  resem- 
blance to  those  of  Mexico  or  Yucatan,  *' either  in  their 
ornamentation  or  mode  of  building."^"  Speaking  of 
Lorillard  town,  he  is  forced  to  admit  that  the  ''differ- 
ences of  type"  may  point  to  **two  different  races." ^  ^ 
This  much  will  do  as  an  illustration  to  show  the 
inconsistencies  of  the  position  that  assumes  that  the 
civilization  prior  to  that  of  the  Aztecs  and  the  Incas 
belonged  to  the  same  people.  In  South  America, 
there  was  the  Inca  period,  and  the  pre-Inca  period. 
Baldwin  says:  *'It  is  now  agreed  that  the  Peruvian 
antiquities  represent  two  distinct  periods  in  the 
ancient  history  of  the  country."^  ^  In  North 
America,  leading  authorities  generally  acknowledge 
three  distinct  periods,  namely,  the  Aztec  period,  the 

»  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  333;  see  also  p.  475. 

10  Ibid.,  p.  504. 

11  Ibid.,  p.  443;  also  see  p.  501. 

12  Ancient  America,  p.  226. 

"Moreover,  these  old  ruins,  in  all  cases,  show  us  only  the 
cities  last  occupied  in  the  periods  to  which  they  belong.  Doubt- 
less others  still  older  preceded  them;  and,  besides,  it  can  be 
seen  that  some  of  the  ruined  cities  which  can  now  be  traced 
were  several  times  renewed  by  reconstruction." — Ibid.,  p.  152. 
"In  Peru,  the  people  who  followed  the  earliest  races  used  extant 
remains  for  the  foundations  of  their  monuments,  as,  for  instance, 
at  Cuzco;  whereas  in  Mexico  and  Central  America  monuments 
were  repaired  and  restored  on  the  same  plan  as  that  on  which 
they  had  been  erected." — Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p. 
134. 


86  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

Toltec  period,  and  the  pre-Toltec  period.*'  Some 
writers  designate  the  pre-Toltec  period  as  the  Colhuas 
period.^* 

We  think  it  would  be  well  if  we  pause  here  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  young  student  to  certain  theories 
that  he  may  be  prepared  for  them  when  he  meets 
them.  Mr.  Bancroft  divides  the  people  of  the  differ- 
ent periods  of  American  antiquity  into  the  Nahua  and 
the  Maya  races,  classing  the  Toltecs  and  the  Chichi- 
mecs  as  Nahua  peoples,  while  the  Mayas,  though 
contemporary  with  the  Aztecs,  descended  from  the 
first  period,  he  says, — and  he  is  not  alone  in  this  idea, 
— and  were  a  distinct  people.  One  weak  point  in  this 
theory  is  the  classing  of  the  Toltecs  and  the  Chichi - 
mecs  in  the  same  racial  division.  Mr.  Short  expresses 
surprise  that  so  careful  a  reasoner  as  Bancroft  should 

18  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  pp.  157,  158. 

"It  is  a  point  of  no  little  interest  that  these  old  constructions 
belong  to  different  periods  in  the  past,  and  represent  somewhat 
different  phases  of  civilization.  Uxmal,  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  partly  inhabited  when  the  Spaniards  arrived  in  the 
country,  is  plainly  much  more  modern  than  Copan  or  Palenque. 
This  is  easily  traced  in  the  ruins.  Its  edifices  were  finished  in 
a  different  style,  and  show  fewer  inscriptions.  Round  pillars, 
somewhat  in  the  Doric  style,  are  found  at  Uxmal,  but  none  like 
the  square,  richly  carved  pillars,  bearing  inscriptions,  discovered 
in  some  of  the  other  ruins." 

"Among  the  edifices  forgotten  by  time  in  the  forests  of  Mexico 
and  Central  America,  we  find  architectural  characteristics  so 
different  from  each  other,  that  it  is  as  impossible  to  attribute 
them  all  to  the  same  people  as  to  believe  they  were  all  built  at 
the  same  epoch." — Ancient  America,  pp.  155,  156. 

"VioUet  le  Due  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  builders  of  the 
great  remains  in  Southern  Mexico  and  Yucatan  belonged  to  two 
different  branches  of  the  human  family,  a  light-skinned  and 
dark-skinned  race  respectively." — Short's  North  Americans  of 
Antiquity,  p.  110. 

14  Ancient  America,  pp.  198, 199. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  87 

do  so,  when  there  is  known  to  have  been  such  a  radi- 
cal difference  between  the  Toltecs  and  the  Chichimecs 
as  that  the  former  people  were  originators  and  devel- 
opers of  civihzation,  while  the  latter  people  could 
only  imitate. 

The  reasons  for  the  belief  held  by  Bancroft  and 
other  authorities,  namely,  that  the  Mayas  descended 
from  the  pre-Toltec  period  are,  that  the  Mayas 
appeared  to  be  a  distinct  and  an  older  people  than 
any  other  found  here  by  the  Spaniards.  They  kept 
themselves  exclusive  from  all  of  the  other  tribes. 
They  were  of  a  more  refined  nature  than  the  Aztecs, 
superior  to  them  in  culture,  and  their  religion  was 
not  of  the  horrible,  cruel  character  that  the  religion 
of  their  Mexican  neighbors  was.  They  were  the  only 
race  found  here  by  the  conquerors  that  were  using  a 
phonetic  system  of  writing.  They  had  a  language  of 
their  own,  the  "most  ancient  on  the  continent,"  says 
Short,  and  to-day  but  one  language  is  spoken  by  the 
Mayas  in  Yucatan.  "No  people  in  America  show 
less  indications  of  admixture  with  foreign  tribes,"  it 
is  said.  Their  exclusiveness  and  tenacious  individu- 
ality remind  us  of  the  Incas  of  South  America. 

While  noting  the  contrasts  between  the  Nahuas  and 
the  Mayas,  Bancroft  also  remarks  the  resemblances 
which,  he  says,  are  so  many  that  they  "may  be  con- 
sistently accounted  for  by  the  theory  that  at  some 
period  long  preceding  the  sixth  century  the  two  peo- 
ples were  practically  one."^^  He  says  that  it  was 
after  their   separation   in   their  ancient   empire  that 

"Native  Races,  vol.  5,  pp.  167,  168. 


88  BOOK  OP   MORMON 

they  became  **practically  distinct  peoples,"  **hence 
the  analogies"  between  them,  and  the  differences, 
resulting  *'from  development  and  progress  in  differ- 
ent paths,  during  the  ten  centuries  that  elapsed 
before  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards."^  ^  Mr.  Ban- 
croft's reasoning,  to  an  extent,  borders  on  the  con- 
clusion that  would  be  inferred  from  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  and  that  is,  that  in  the  Mayas  was  a  larger 
admixture  of  the  superior  blood  of  the  Nephites  than 
was  in  the  other  tribes;  a  blood  that  had,  indeed, 
descended  from  a  grand  and  ancient  empire.  Hence 
the  superiority  of  the  Mayas  over  the  other  native 
American  tribes  is  easily  accounted  for,  while  at  the 
same  time  there  was  such  a  similarity  in  physical 
appearances  and  in  other  respects  as  to  cause  all  the 
families  or  tribes  of  native  Americans  to  be  classed 
as  Indians  in  the  history  and  geography  of  to-day, 
or,  as  the  Book  of  Mormon  believer  would  call  them, 
Lamanites.  Again  we  have  to  note  how  a  peculiar 
situation,  perplexing  to  science,  becomes  clear  and 
simple,  and  finds  an  adequate  explanation  in  the 
Book  of  Mormon. 

Going  back  to  the  point  where  we  left  off,  Mr. 
Bancroft  is  not  clear  about  the  history  back  of  the 
Toltec  period.  As  we  have  cited  to  show,  he  asserts 
that  there  was  a  pre-Toltec  period.  He  thinks  that 
the  traditions  of  the  Mayas  point  back  to  that  period. 
On  one  hand  he  identifies  the  Mayas  with  the  oldest 
history  and  ruins  in  the  country,  and  then  on  the 
other  hand  says  that  there  was  another  period,  far 

i«  Ibid.,  pp.  235,  236. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  89 

older  than  the  Mayas.  **Doubtless  the  Votanic  was 
not  the  first  period  of  American  civilization  and 
power,"^''  he  observes,  but  the  "pre-Votanic  nations 
have  left  absolutely  no  record."^ ^  *'Who  were  these 
people  ...  and  what  was  their  past  history?"  he 
asks. 

Out  of  all  the  confusion  of  scientific  opinion  on  the 
question  of  the  divisions  of  the  ancient  history  of 
America,  we  wish  the  young  student  to  see  that 
there  is  one  great  fact  to  be  derived,  namely,  that 
there  were  different  periods  of  civilization.  Because 
worldly-wise  men  do  not  agree  with  one  another  in 
their  opinions  as  to  the  number  of  the  ancient  periods, 
or  the  people  who  made  the  history  of  those  periods, 
and  get  tangled,  themselves,  in  the  web  of  their  own 
theories,  it  does  not  detract  from  the  confirmatory 
importance  that  the  archaeological  fact  has  in  its 
bearing  on  the  claims  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 

REGIONS   OF   OLDEST  ANTIQUITY. 

It  is  very  important  to  know  to  what  localities 
archaeology  points  as  the  starting  places,  or  the  oldest 
seats  of  America's  ancient  civilization.  The  Book  of 
Mormon  says  that  the  first  civilization,  that  of  the 
Jaredites,  started  in  Central  America;  that  the  second 
civilization,  that  of  the  Nephites,  was  planted  on  the 
west  side  of  South  America.  Let  us  see  what  archaeo- 
logical evidence  has  to  offer  on  this  question. 

Short  says:  *'The  most  ancient  civilization  on  this 
continent,  judging  from  the  combined  testimony  of 

17  Ibid.,  p.  165. 
"Ibid.,  p.  231. 


90  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

tradition,  records,  and  architectural  remains,  was 
that  which  grew  up  under  the  favorable  climate  and 
geographical  surroundings  which  the  Central  Ameri- 
can region  southward  of  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec 
afforded."  (a)  Baldwin  tells  us:  "To  find  the  chiei 
seats  and  most  abundant  remains  of  the  most 
remarkable  civilization  of  this  old  American  race,  we 
must  go  still  further  south  into  Central  America  and 
some  of  the  more  southern  states  of  Mexico.  Here 
ruins  of  ancient  cities  have  been  discovered,  cities 
which  must  have  been  deserted  and  left  to  decay 
in  ages  previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  Aztec 
supremacy."  (b)  Bancroft  says:  **The  oldest  civi- 
lization in  America  which  has  left  any  traces  for  our 
consideration,  whatever  may  have  been  its  prehistoric 
origin,  was  that  in  the  Usumacinta  (Central  Ameri- 
can) region  represented  by  the  Palenque  group  of 
ruins."  (c)  We  might  go  on  multiplying  the  evidence 
on  this  point,  but  it  is  not  necessary.  Enough  has 
been  given  to  show  that  archaeology  places  the  oldest 
civilization  of  America  where  the  Book  of  Mormon 
describes  it  to  have  flourished. 

Passing  on,  now,  to  the  second  civilization,  if  we 
should  learn  that  discovery  and  research  had  proven 
that  the  east  side  of  South  America,  for  instance, 
gave  evidence  of  the  greatest  antiquity  of  that  divi- 
sion; or  that,  on  the  other  hand,  no  evidences  of 
an  ancient    civilization    had    been   found  in   South 

(a)  Short's  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  203. 

(b)  Ancient  America,  p.  93. 

(c)  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  168;  also  see  p.  230.  See  Char- 
nay's  preface  to  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  26. 


AND  ARGHJEOLOGY.  91 

America,  at  all,  it  would  prove  that,  whatever  other 
merits  the  Book  of  Mormon  might  have,  it  could  not 
be  depended  on  for  absolute  accuracy  of  historical 
statement.  But  what  do  we  find?  Prescott  tells  us 
that  the  source  of  the  pre-Inca  civilization  ''is  traced 
to  the  Valley  of  Cuzco,  the  central  region  of  Peru;" 
a  conclusion  that  is  confirmed  by  "nearly  every  tra- 
dition," he  says,  and  "by  the  imposing  architectural 
remains  which  still  endure,  after  the  lapse  of  so  many 
years,"  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Titicaca.  (d)  "The 
uniform  and  constant  report  of  Peruvian  tradition," 
says  Baldwin,  "places  the  beginning  of  this  old  civi- 
lization in  the  Valley  of  Cuzco,  near  Lake  Titicaca. 
There  appeared  the  first  civilizers  and  the  first  civi- 
lized communities."  (e) 

Let  us  not  be  understood  as  meaning  to  convey 
the  idea  that  scientific  writers  agree  in  their  opinions 
as  to  the  ancient  civilizations  of  America  having 
originated  in  the  localities  that  have  been  pointed 

(d)  Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  1,  pp.  8,  13,  14. 
Baldwin  gives  the  discoveries  of  James  S.  Wilson:  **At  various 
points  along  the  coast  of  Ecuador,  in  1860,  he  found  ancient  or 
fossil  pottery,  vessels,  images,  and  other  manufactured  articles, 
all  finely  "wrought.  Some  of  these  articles  were  of  gold.  The 
most  remarkable  fact  concerning  them  is  that  they  were  taken 
from  a  stratum  of  ancient  surface  earth  which  was  covered  with 
a  marine  deposit  six  feet  thick.  .  .  .The  ancient  surface  earth 
or  vegetable  mold,  with  its  pottery,  gold-work,  and  other  relics 
of  civilized  human  life,  was,  therefore,  below  the  sea  when  that 
marine  deposit  was  spread  over  it.  This  land,  after  being  occu- 
pied by  men,  had  subsided  and  settled  below  the  ocean,  remained 
there  long  enough  to  accumulate  the  marine  deposit,  and  again 
been  elevated  to  its  former  position  above  the  sea  level.  Since 
this  elevation  forests  have  been  established  over  it  which  are 
older  than  the  Spanish  Conquest,  and  now  it  is  once  more  sub- 
siding."— Ancient  America,  p.  274. 

(e)  Ancient  America,  p.  236. 


32  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

out.  Some  antiquarians  so  believe,  and  some  do 
not.  To  be  sure  none  can  deny  that  these  locahties 
are  the  most  ancient  seats  to  which  civilization  can  be 
traced  **by  traditional,  monumental,  and  linguistic 
records,"  to  quote  Bancroft.  Why  are  the  scientific 
gentlemen  unsettled,  then?  asks  the  young  student. 
We  try  to  show  the  reason  in  a  future  chapter,  but  as 
the  query  naturally  rises  here,  we  answer  briefly, 
that  it  is  because  they  make  the  mistake  of  applying 
the  traditions  of  the  Maya  7'aces  to  the  people  who 
began  their  national  career  in  Central  Amey'ica.  The 
untenability  of  this  idea,  and  the  irreconcilable  diffi- 
culties in  which  it  involves  antiquarians,  will  be 
explained  in  the  future  chapter  referred  to.  So  far 
as  all  existing  traces  are  concerned,  all  facts  that 
have  been  proven  to  be  such,  they  are  in  perfect 
accord  with  the  Book  of  Mormon  in  designating  the 
regions  of  the  oldest  American  civilizations  to  have 
been  where  that  book  outlines  those  civilizations  to 
have  started  and  developed. 


THE  RUINS  OF  ANCIENT  AMERICA. 
PREFACE. — DIVISIONS   OF  AMERICAN  ANTIQUITIES. 

No  division  is  made  in  the  ruins  of  South  America. 
In  North  America,  because  of  peculiarities  about  dif- 
ferent sections,  it  is  found  more  convenient  to  divide 
the  remains  into  three  classes;  namely,  those  of 
Central  America  and  Mexico;  the  Mound -builders 
of  the  United  States  in  the  valleys  of  the  Mississippi, 
the  Missouri,  the  Ohio,  and  their  tributaries;  the 
Pueblos,  or  Cliff-dwellers,  of  Northern  Mexico,  and 
of  our  States  and  Territories,  of  Utah,  Colorado, 
Arizona,  and  New  Mexico. 

Much  of  what  archaeological  information  there  is 
about  the  remote  people  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America  has  been  derived  from  the  institutions  and 
traditions  of  the  people  occupying  the  ancient  sites, 
the  Mayas,  the  Aztecs,  and  other  contemporary 
nations.  But  the  works  of  the  Mound -builders  were 
deserted  when  the  Discoverers  came,  deserted  and 
overgrown  with  forests,  and  only  wild  Indian  tribes 
roamed  through  the  wilderness  of  the  United  States. 
There  were  no  buildings  left  of  the  Mound -builders 
when  the  country  was  discovered;  nothing,  in  fact, 
but  the  mysterious  earthworks  after  which  modern 
history  has  called  the  vanished  people. 

"While  the  regions  of  Mexico  and  Central  America 
were  occupied  more  recently  than  the  territory  of  the 
Mound-builders,  apparently,  yet  there  is  a  principal 


94  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

feature  of  architecture  that  runs  through  all  the  ruins 
of  both  sections.  It  is  the  mound,  or  pyramid.  It  is 
found  in  the  valleys  mentioned  of  the  United  States, 
and  it  is  found  in  Mexico  and  Central  America. 

The  ruins  of  the  Pueblos,  or  Cliff-dwellers,  how- 
ever, differ  from  all  the  rest  of  the  remains  of 
America.  The  mode  of  building  was  peculiar  to  the 
people.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Mound -builders, 
though,  there  are  no  traditions  about  the  Pueblos  to 
amount  to  anything,  because,  since  the  people  van- 
ished, their  ruins  have  been  inhabited  by  uncivilized 
Indian  tribes,  after  whom,  partly,  the  ancient  builders 
are  called.  The  other  name.  Cliff-dwellers,  is  signifi- 
cant of  the  manner  of  their  living,  the  situation  of 
their  homes. 

CHANGES  THAT  HAVE  TAKEN  PLACE. 

Any  attempt  to  say,  exactly,  from  the  ruins,  what 
the  ancient  civilization  of  America  was,  would  be 
unfair,  since  so  much  time  elapsed  between  the  dis- 
covery of  the  ruins,  and  the  disappearance  of  the 
people  who  inhabited  them.  According  to  the  Book 
of  Mormon  it  has  been  fifteen  hundred  years  since 
the  latter  people,  the  Nephites,  disappeared.  The 
earliest  that  Europeans  made  any  study  of  the 
ancient  civilization  was  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
the  Nephites  had  been  gone  more  than  a  thousand 
years,  then,  for  their  career  came  to  an  end  four 
hundred  years  after  Christ.  Archaeological  esti- 
mates, though  they  differ,  yet  all  place  the  close  of 
the  pre- Aztec -Inca  period  in  the  early  centuries  of 
the  Christian  era.     Bancroft  says  that  the  end  of  the 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  95 

Nahua  power  (he  means  the  empire  before  the 
Aztecs)  was  "at  some  period  probably  preceding  the 
fifth  century.  "1  Baldwin  quotes  Montesinos  as 
asserting  that  the  original  civilization  of  Peru  began 
to  go  down  in  the  "first  or  second  century  of  the 
Christian  era,"  when  a  "period  of  disintegration, 
decline,  and  disorder"  set  in.^ 

It  matters  not  which  we  take;  whether  the  time 
given  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  or  the  approximations 
of  archaeological  writers,  it  had  been  hundreds  of 
years,  up  to  the  time  when  inquiry  concerning  them 
was  first  made,  since  the  ancient  people  vanished. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  during  all  that  time  their 
remains  were  in  the  possession  of  other  peoples,  it 
can  be  seen  how  little  there  must  have  been  to  speak 
directly  for  the  ancient  civilizers  when  modern  inves- 
tigation sought  to  unlock  the  mysteries  of  the  past, 
and  how  could  it  be  known  what  was  purely  of  their 
authorship  or  workmanship?  Of  course  the  best  that 
was  found  in  the  remains  would  be  credited  to  them, 
but  even  then,  how  could  it  be  known  to  what  extent 
that  represented  the  true  culture  or  highest  attain- 
ments of  the  ancient  people?  A  current  writer, 
speaking  about  Asiatic  ruins,  remarks,  "It  is  a  fact 
that  when  an  ancient  city  was  completely  deserted 
and  the  site  abandoned,  much  more  remains  of  its 
edifices  and  in  a  far  better  state  of  preservation  than 
when  the  locaHty  was  continuously  occupied."  "The 
explanation  is  easy.     Succeeding  generations  employ 


«  Ancient  America 


1.  5,  p.  2 
,  p.  264. 


90  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

the  materials  of  their  own  dwellings.  Temples 
become  quarries,  the  walls  of  palaces  are  storehouses 
of  stone  and  brick  for  the  construction  of  dwellings, 
of  embankments,  of  fortifications.  Sculptured  mar- 
bles find  their  way  into  the  walls  of  hovels,  inscribed 
monuments  become  foundation  stones,  the  new  city 
is  being  continually  rebuilt  and  renovated  at  the 
expense  of  the  old."  This  will  apply  with  equal 
truth,  of  course,  to  the  ruins  of  any  other  part  of 
the  world,  and  hence  it  is  plain  to  be  seen  how  dim 
must  be  the  traces  of  the  ancient  Americans  after 
hundreds  of  years  of  occupancy  of  their  ruins  by 
another,  and  numerous  people.  "We  can  not  do  bet- 
ter than  to  quote  from  the  "Report  of  the  Committee 
on  American  Archaeology,"  here:  "Their  countries 
and  chief  places  of  settlement,  after  being  long 
inhabited  by  themselves,  were  overrun  by  a  foe 
stronger  than  they,  who  occupied  and  built  upon 
their  ruins;  and  they  in  turn  were  vanquished  by 
others;  nation  rising  after  nation,  and  conflict  fol- 
ioAving  conflict,  until  the  work  of  the  older  civihza- 
tion,  except  the  most  enduring,  became  effaced  and 
destroyed ;  and  these  even  have  fallen,  more  or  less, 
into  decay,  been  worked  over  and  inwrought  into 
later  and  even  modern  superstructions ;  or  left  to  the 
wilds,  hidden  by  overgrown  forest,  until  the  tooth  of 
time  has  greatly  obscured  even  the  most  enduring." 
Another  factor  of  destructive  nature  has  been 
physical  changes  in  the  country.  Quoting  the 
"Report"  again:  "Wind,  wave,  and  earthquake 
have  united  to  change  the  face  of  nature  also  as  the 
history  of  modern  times  shows  as  being  most  proba- 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  97 

ble.  No  doubt  where  once  existed  beautiful  plains, 
plateaus,  and  landscapes,  containing  cities  and  ham- 
lets filled  with  a  numerous  and  thrifty  population,  are 
now  to  be  found  but  hills  and  mountains,  volcanoes, 
and  lakes  of  water ;  great  rivers  have  changed  their 
course  by  reason  of  upheavals  and  depressions  in  the 
land,  and  highways  raised  upon  the  mountain  top, 
or  become  buried  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  All  of 
this  is  within  the  range  of  probabilities,  judging  from 
what  is  known  to  have  occurred  in  the  history  of 
many  of  these  countries  in  recent  years.  Markham 
says:  'The  whole  Peruvian  coast  is  subject  to  fre- 
quent and  severe  earthquakes,  more  especially  the 
southern  sections.  The  most  terrible  in  its  effects 
was  that  of  1746,  which  destroyed  Callao  (kal-ya-o). 
Callao  was  overwhelmed  by  a  vast  wave  which  rose 
eighty  feet,  and  the  shocks  continued  until  the  fol- 
lowing February.  On  August  13,  1868,  a  fearful 
earthquake  nearly  destroyed  Arequipa  and  leveled 
the  cathedral,  and  great  waves  rolled  in  upon  the 
ports  of  Arica  (a-re-ka)  and  Iquique  (e-ke-ka).  An 
equally  terrible  visitation  took  place  on  May  9,  1877, 
in  the  extreme  south  of  Peru,  when  all  the  southern 
ports  were  overwhelmed.  These  fearful  catastrophes 
are  connected  with  volcanic  action,  and  they  are  in 
greatest  force  in  the  neighborhood  of  volcanoes, 
whether  extinct  or  active.  Since  1570  there  have 
been  seventy  violently  destructive  earthquakes 
recorded  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America,  but 
the  record  is  of  course  very  incomplete  in  its  earlier 
part.'  "3 

»  Report  of  Committee  on  American  Archaeology,  p.  6. 


98  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

In  the  Sunday's  Globe- Democrat ,  August  14,  1898, 
Frank  G.  Carpenter,  writing  from  South  America  of 
"The  Nitrate  Deserts  of  Chili,"  says:  "For  the  past 
three  weeks  I  have  been  traveling  through  a  vast 
chemical  laboratory  of  the  gods.  I  have  ridden  over 
miles  of  plains  covered  with  salt,  have  visited  lakes 
of  whitest  borax,  have  wound  in  and  out  among 
mountains  rich  in  tin,  coppej,  and  silver,  and  now 
write  almost  in  the  midst  of  the  vast  nitrate  fields  of 
Chili  like  unto  which  there  is  nothing  on  the  face  of 
the  earth."  Mr.  Carpenter  goes  on  to  say  that  these 
vast  nitrate  fields  are  a  source  of  wonder  and  specu- 
lation as  to  their  origin.  Among  different  theories 
aiming  at  a  solution  of  the  mystery  he  mentions  one 
that  supposes  that  "the  desert  was  once  the  bed  of 
an  inland  sea."  Professor  Baldwin  says:  "Wilson 
has  traced  six  terraces  in  going  up  from  the  sea 
through  the  province  of  Esmeraldas  toward  Quito, 
and  underneath  the  living  forest,  which  is  older  than 
the  Spanish  invasion,  many  gold,  copper,  and  stone 
vestiges  of  a  lost  population  were  found.  In  all 
cases  these  relics  are  situated  below  the  high-tide 
mark,  in  a  bed  of  marine  sediment,  from  which  he 
infers  that  this  part  of  the  country  formerly  stood 
higher  above  the  sea."  "At  various  points  along 
this  coast  (the  coast  of  Ecuador)  he  found 
*ancient  or  fossil  pottery,  vessels,  images,'  and 
other  manufactured  articles,  all  finely  wrought. 
Some  of  the  articles  were  made  of  gold.  The 
most  remarkable  fact  connected  with  them  is  that 
they  were   taken   from   'a    stratum    of   ancient  sur- 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  99 

face    earth'    which    was    covered     with    a    marine 
deposit  six  feet  thick.*** 

RUINS   OF  SOUTH   AMERICA. 

For  purposes  of  comparison  we  shall  consider  first 
in  order  those  sections  of  American  antiquities 
affording  traditions  as  well  as  ruins.  These  sections 
are  the  regions  of  Central  America  and  Mexico,  and 
of  Peru,  in  South  America — ancient  Peru,  we  mean, 
which  comprised  the  territory  of  the  modern  repub- 
lics of  Chili,  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  Ecuador,  remember. 
We  shall  leave  those  divisions  which  are  represented 
by  ruins,  only, — namely,  the  sections  of  the  Mound- 
builders  and  of  the  Cliff-dwellers, — to  come  last. 
Let  us  look  at  the  ruins  before  we  do  the  traditions, 
and  begin  with  the  territory  of  ancient  Peru. 

The  mound,  or  pyramid,  the  characteristic  feature 
of  the  ancient  architecture  of  North  America,  is  not 
found  in  South  America,  at  all.  Cuzco  was  the  cap- 
ital city  of  the  Incas  and,  Baldwin  says,  "appears  to 
have  occupied  the  site  of  a  ruined  city  of  the  older 
period.'**  Ruins  are  strewn  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  city  and  on  the  shores  and  islands  of  Lake 
Titicaca.  Some  of  the  ruins,  we  are  told,  bear  "more 
resemblance  to  some  of  the  great  constructions  in 
Central  America  than  to  anything  peculiar  to  the 
later  period  of  Peruvian  architecture."  There  are 
remains  of  "ancient  fortress  walls,"  and  "the  whole 
neighborhood  is  strewn  with  immense  blocks  of  stone 

*  Ancient  America,  p.  274. 

•  Ibid.,  226. 


100  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

elaborately  wrought,  equaling,  if  not  surpassing,  in 
size,  any  known  to  exist  in  Egypt  or  India.  "^  "The 
walls  of  many  of  the  Cuzco  houses  have  remained 
unaltered  for  centuries,"  quotes  Prescott;  "The 
great  size  of  the  stones,  the  variety  of  their  shapes, 
and  the  inimitable  workmanship  they  display,  give  to 
the  city  that  interesting  air  of  antiquity  and  romance 
which  fills  the  mind  with  pleasing,  though  painful 
veneration."'^  The  ideas  of  a  heathenish,  idolatrous 
people,  however,  are  everywhere  chiefly  in  evidence. 
Idols,  carving,  and  statuary  representing  distorted 
forms  and  heathenish  conceptions  adulterate  the 
grandest  ruins.  But  we  could  only  expect  such  to  be 
the  case  from  the  account  the  Book  of  Mormon  gives 
us.  It  was  in  the  very  early  centuries  of  Nephite 
history  that  the  Lamanites  gained  the  site  of  the  first 
great  Nephite  city,  and  all  that  region,  and  before 
the  time  of  Christ  they  were  in  possession  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  territory  over  which  the  Nephites  had 
built  towns  and  cities.  Then,  too,  the  last  days  of  the 
Nephites  were  days  of  transgression  and  wickedness, 
and  of  idolatry,  to  some  extent.  "The  otherwise 
inviting  picture  of  ancient  American  civilization," 
says  Mr.  Short,  in  reference  to  the  latter  stages  of  it, 
"is  marred  by  the  introduction  of  human  sacrifices 
which  in  each  instance  occurred  in  the  period  of  the 
political  decadence  of  the  people  practicing  it,  and  no 
doubt  was  the  most  potent  factor  in  the  downfall  of 

•Ibid.,  231,  235,  234. 

7  Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  1,  pp.  17,  18,  foot- 
note. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  101 

both  Toltec  and  Aztec  monarchies."*  Here  and 
there,  probably,  in  the  older  ruins,  undefiled  speci- 
mens of  Nephite  art  and  skill,  belonging  to  the  best 
stages  of  the  nation's  history,  are  represented,  but 
side  by  side  with  it,  in  the  same  buildings,  are  the 
evidences  of  heathenism.  The  ruins  at  Tiahuanaco, 
a  few  miles  from  Lake  Titicaca,  consisting  of  great 
edifices,  walls,  gateways,  stone  slabs,  columns,  plat- 
forms, and  porches,  are  said  to  have  been  **very 
imposing"  when  first  seen  by  the  Spanish  conquer- 
ors, but  great  statuary  idols  were  found  there,  also.* 

There  is  one  place  recorded  where  no  signs  of  idol 
worship  were  found.  It  was  twenty-five  miles  south 
of  Lima,  near  the  sea,  where  the  * 'remains  of  a  now 
'wholly  deserted  city,  and  of  a  great  temple,"  were 
discovered.  The  religion  of  this  place  is  thought 
to  have  been  a  **pure  Theism,"  "for  when  the  Peru- 
vians of  Cuzco  carried  their  victorious  arms  across 
the  Cordilleras  to  this  district,  they  beheld  this  tem- 
ple (the  doors  of  which  are  said  to  have  been  of  gold 
inlaid  with  precious  stones)  with  astonishment,  not 
only  because  it  rivalled  if  not  surpassed  in  splendor 
the  famous  Temple  of  the  Sun  at  Cuzco,  but  because 
it  contained  no  image  or  visible  symbol  of  a  god.  It 
was  raised  in  honor  of  an  invisible  and  mysterious 
deity,  whom  the  inhabitants  called  Pachacamac,  the 
Creator  of  the  world."  The  city  is  called  Paohaoa- 
mao,  after  the  invisible  deity.** 

•  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  520. 

•Ancient  America,  pp.  231-233. 

>«  Chambers'  Encyclopedia,  article  Peru. 


102       •  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

In  connection  with  the  Book  of  Mormon  story  of 
the  colony  of  Zeniff,  the  accounts  of  the  ruins  of 
Gran-Chimu  are  very  interesting  and  significant. 
These  ruins  were  situated  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
Peru,  near  Truxillo,  and  covered  "not  less  than 
twenty  square  miles."  This  territory  formed  an 
* 'independent  state"  before  the  time  of  the  Incas, 
says  Baldwin.  "Tombs,  temples,  and  palaces  arise 
on  every  hand,  ruined,  but  still  traceable,"  Donnelly 
tells  us.  "Immense  pyramidal  structures,  some  of 
them  half  a  mile  in  circuit;  vast  areas  shut  in  by 
massive  walls,  each  containing  its  water  tank,  its 
shops,  municipal  edifices,  and  the  dwelling  of  its 
inhabitants,  and  each  a  branch  of  a  larger  organiza- 
tion; prisons,  furnaces  for  smelting  metals,  and 
almost  every  concomitant  of  civilization  existed  in 
the  ancient  Chimu  capitol."  We  are  further  told  that 
"The  Spaniards  took  vast  quantities  of  gold  from  the 
huacas,  or  tombs  at  this  place,"  and  that  from  the 
indications  the  city  "contained  a  great  population."^  ^ 

Other  "remarkable"  ruins  are  at  Cuelap,  also  in 
Northern  Peru.  A  great  wall  is  described  built  of 
"wrought  stones  3,600  feet  long,  560  broad,  and  150 
high,  constituting  a  solid  mass  with  a  level  summit. 
On  this  mass  was  another  600  feet  long,  500  broad, 
and  150  high,  making  an  aggregate  of  three  hundred 
feet.  In  it  were  rooms  and  cells  which  were  used  as 
tombs. "^*     The  ruins  called  "Old  Huanuco,"  further 

"Ancient  America,  pp.  237,  238;  Atlantis,  39S,  393. 
»a  Atlantis,  393. 


AND  ARCHJaOLOGY.  103 

south,   are  famous,  and  near  them  are  the  **faded 
traces  of  a  large  town."^^ 

"Ruins  of  towns,  castles,  fortresses,  and  other 
structures  are  found  all  about  the  country,"  we  are 
old.  There  are  very  ancient  ruins  of  a  city  near 
Huamanga  which,  "native  traditions"  said,  was  built 
by  "bearded  white  men,  who  came  there  long  before 
the  time  of  the  Incas."  ^*  These  ancient  ruins  were 
built  of  hewn  stone  and  brick.  Baldwin  speaks  of 
the  "large  use  of  aqueducts"  by  the  ancient  people, 
"which  they  built  with  notable  skill,  using  hewn 
stones  and  cement,  and  making  them  very  substan- 
tial. Some  of  them  are  still  in  use.  They  were  used 
to  carry  water  to  the  cities  and  to  irrigate  the  culti- 
vated lands.  A  few  of  them  were  very  long.  There 
is  mention  of  one  which  was  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  long,  and  of  another  which  was  extended  four 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  across  sierras  and  over  rivers, 
from  south  to  north."  **  The  great  Peruvian  roads 
of  which  it  is  said,  "No  ancient  people  has  left  traces 
of  works  more  astonishing  than  these,  were  not  built 
by  the  Incas,  we  are  informed,  but  by  the  ancient 
people  who  preceded  the  Incas  in  the  country." i* 

•^UINS  AND  RELICS  OF  MEXICO   AND   CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

Allen  Thorndike  Rice,  in  his  introduction  to  Char- 
nay's  work,  speaking  of  the  ruins  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  exclaims,  "These  monuments  of 
surpassing  grandeur."  .  .  .  "Yet  how  few   Ameri- 

i«  Ancient  America,  pp.  239,  240. 

'*  Ibid.,  243;  Atlantis,  393. 

1^5  Ibid. 

'«  Ancient  America,  245,  246;  Atlantis,  393,  394. 


104  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

cans  of  our  day  have  any  adequate  conception  of 
the  stately  edifices  of  monumental  Mitla,  or  of  Pal- 
enque,  with  its  magnificent  palace,  its  terraces  and 
temples,  its  pyramids  and  sculptured  ornaments?*'^ 

As  was  mentioned  in  a  previous  paper,  the  most 
famous  regions  of  North  and  South  America  have 
not  been  fully  explored  yet,  and  Professor  Baldwin 
says  that  "it  is  not  unreasonable  to  assume  that 
Copan  and  Palenque  are  specimens  of  great  ruins 
that  Jie  buried"  in  the  forests.  Stephens  and  Cath- 
erwood,  two  famous  travelers,  found  forty  ruined 
cities  in  Yucatan.^  Charnay  gives  us  detailed 
description  of  over  twenty -five  ruined  cities  that  he 
visited,  while  other  cities,  known  to  history,  have 
entirely  gone  to  decay.  ^ 

The  most  celebrated  ruins  of  the  region  we  are 
now  considering  are  those  of  the  cities  of  Palenque, 
in  Chiapas;  Copan,  Quirigua,  and  Utatlan,  in  Hon- 
duras and  Guatemala;  Mayapan,  Uxmal,  Kabah, 
Labna,  and  Chichen-Itz^.  in  Yucatan;  Mitla,  Xochu- 
calco,  and  Teotihuacan  .n  states  of  the  Republic  of 
Mexico. 

As  in  the  ruins  of  South  America,  the  prevalence 
of  sculptured  idols  and  distorted,  unnatural  human 
shapes  in  even  the  grandest  ruins  repeats  the  sad 
story  of  diversified  skill  and  intellectual  advancement 
sacrificed  to  debased  uses  through  spiritual  decline 
and    the   spread  of   heathen  dominion.     The  distin- 

1  Rice's  Introduction  to  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World, 
pp.  10,  11. 

2  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  347. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  368,  374,  375. 


COURT    AND  TOWER   OF    THE   PALACE,    PALENQUE 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  105 

guishing  architectural  feature  of  the  ruins  of 
Mexico  and  Central  America  is  the  mound,  or 
pyramid,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  used  as 
a  foundation  for  their  principal  buildings.*  *'The 
summit  of  these  mounds  are  usually  of  sufficient 
extent  to  furnish  space  for  extensive  terraces  or 
grounds,  as  well  as  room  for  the  buildmgs."  The 
pyramids  were  * 'foundations  of  earth,  faced  with  hewn 
stone,  and  provided  with  great  stone  stairways." 

The  material  used  in  the  edifices  was  '*hewn 
stone,  laid  in  a  mortar  of  lime  and  sand,  the 
masonry  being  admirable."  It  is  supposed  that  che 
ordinary  dwellings  were  built  chiefly  of  wood,  or 
some  other  perishable  material,  since  no  traces  of 
them  are  left.^  '*The  chief  peculiarity  of  these 
ruins,"  says  Professor  Baldwin,  "that  which  espe- 
cially invites  our  attention,  is  the  evidence  they  fur- 
nish that  their  builders  had  remar^vable  skill  in  archi- 
tecture and  architectural  ornamentation."  **The 
rooms  and  corridors  in  these  edifices  were  finely 
and  elaborately  finished,  plaster,  stucco,  and  sculp- 
ture, being  used."  "The  ornamentation  is  no  less 
remarkable  than  the  masonry  and  architectural  fin- 
ish. It  is  found  on  the  walls  within  and  without, 
and  appears  in  elaborate  designs  on  the  heavy  cor- 
nices. The  exterior  ornamentation  is  gen^raUy 
carved  or  sculptured  on  a  smooth  surface  of  stone, 
and  must  have  required  a  vast  amount  of  time  and 
labor,  as  well  as  skillful  artists."* 

*  Ibid.,  p.  381;  Ancient  America,  96. 
•Ancient  America,  p.  96. 
•Ibid.,  pp.  99,  100. 


106  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

"In  some  of  the  ruins  inscriptions  are  abundant, 
being  found  on  walls,  tablets,  and  pillars."''  Inscrip- 
tions are  especially  plentiful  at  Copan  and  Pal- 
enque.  ^ 

One  of  the  most  famous  of  the  ruined  cities  is 
Palenque.  Baldwin  quotes  an  explorer  who  says: 
**For  five  days  I  wandered  up  and  down  among 
the  crumbling  monuments  of  a  city  which,  I  hazard 
little  in  saying,  must  have  been  one  of  the  largest 
ever  seen."  The  floors  of  an  edifice  known  as  the 
"Palace"  were  of  cement,  "as  hard  as  the  best  seen 
in  the  remains  of  Roman  baths  and  cisterns."*  Mr. 
Short  says:  "The  stuccoed  roofs  and  piers  of  both 
the  temples — Crodd  and  Sun — may  be  truly  pro- 
nounced works  of  art  of  a  high  order.  On  the 
former,  Stephens  observed  busts  and  heads  approach- 
ing the  Greek  models  in  symmetry  of  contour  and 
perfection  of  proportion.  M.  Waldeck  has  preserved 
in  his  magnificent  drawings  some  of  these  figures, 
which  are  certainly  sufficient  to  prove,  beyond  con- 
troversy, that  the  ancient  Palenqueans  were  a  culti- 
vated and  artistic  people."^"  "The  cross  is  one  of 
the  most  common  emblems  in  all  the  ruins." ^^ 

Of  Copan,  another  famed  city,  we  are  told:  "Here, 
as  at  Palenque,  the  ornamentation  was  rich  and 
abundant.  The  ruins,  greatly  worn  by  decay,  still 
show  that  architecture,  sculpture,  painting,  and  all 

» Ibid.,  100. 

•North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  405;    Ancient  America, 
p.  137. 
» Ancient  America,  pp.  96,  99. 
1  o  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  392,  393. 
» 1  Ancient  America,  109. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  107 

the  arts  that  embellish  life  had  flourished  in  that 
overgrown  forest.  Some  beautifully  executed  sculp- 
tures were  found  buried  in  the  earth,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  extensive  excavation,  if  it  were 
possible  in  that  almost  invincible  forest,  would  lead 
to  important  and  valuable  discoveries."^^  Short 
calls  attention  to  striking  differences  of  architec- 
ture and  workmanship  at  Copan,  which,  he  says, 
causes  "astonishment."  There  is  one  example  of  a 
structure  in  which  **there  is  no  appearance  of  the 
component  parts  being  joined  together."  Not  far 
away,  a  temple,  "adorned  with  columns  having 
bases,  pedestals,  capitals  and  crowns,  all  accu- 
rately adjusted  according  to  architectural  princi- 
ples." ^^ 

At  Kabah,  Mr.  Short  says,  "We  meet  with  an 
entirely  new  feature  in  Maya  architecture."  He 
quotes  the  explorer,  Stephens,  who  said  that  the 
decorations  of  the  building  were  "equal  to  those  of 
any  known  era,  even  when  tried  by  the  severest 
rules  of  art."i* 

Uxmal,  we  are  told,  is  the  most  important  ruined 
city  in  Yucatan.  "The  area  covered  by  its  remains 
is  extensive."^*  "Uxmal  statuary  approximates 
more  closely  to  what  properly  may  be  called 
statuary,  being  cut  more  nearly  in  the  round,  and 
having  less  unfinished  back  surface  than  the  Pal- 
en  que  statue.    The  elegant  square  panels  of  grecques 

12  Ibid.,  113. 

18  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  857. 

i*Ibid.,  p.  353. 

*•  Ancient  America,  131. 


108  BOOK  OF    MORMOM 

and  frets  which  compose  the  cornice  of  the  Casa 
del  Gobernador  .  .  .  are  a  marvel  of  beauty."^ ^ 
A.  T.  Rice  tells  us  that  "According  to  Stephens, 
the  carved  work  is  equal  to  the  finest  of  the 
Egyptian."  !■» 

Charnay  says  about  the  monuments  of  Tula:  **We 
are  filled  with  admiration  for  the  marvelous  build- 
ing capacity  of  the  people  who  erected  them;  for, 
unlike  most  primitive  nations,  they  use  every  mate- 
rial at  once.  They  coated  their  inner  wall  with 
mud  and  mortar,  faced  their  outer  walls  with  baked 
bricks  and  cut  stone,  had  wooden  roofs,  and  brick 
and  stone  staircases.  They  were  acquainted  with 
pilasters  (we  found  them  in  their  houses),  with  cary- 
tides,  with  square  and  round  columns;  indeed,  they 
seem  to  have  been  familar  with  every  architectural 
device.  That  they  were  painters  and  decorators,  we 
have  ample  indications  in  the  house  we  unearthed, 
where  the  walls  are  covered  with  rosettes,  palms, 
red,  white,  and  gray  geometrical  figures  on  a  black 
ground.''  I  picked  out  of  the  rubbish  many  curious 
things;  huge  baked  bricks,  from  one  to  nine  inches, 
by  two  and  two  and  a  half,  in  thickness;  filters, 
straight  and  curved  water-pipes,  vases  and  fragments 
of  vases,  enameled  terra-cotta  cups,  bringing  to  mind 
those  at  Tenene-panco;  seals,  one  of  which  (an 
eagle's  head)  I  had  engraved  for  my  personal  use; 
bits  which  were  curiously  like  old  Japanese  china ; 
moulds,  one  having  a  head  with  a  huge  plait,  and 

i«  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  393. 

» 7  Rice's  Introduction  to  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World 
p.  21. 


AND  ARCKLEOLOGYc  109 

hair  smoothed  on  both  sides  of  her  face,  like  an  old 
maid;  besides  innumerable  arrow-heads  and  knives 
of  obsidian  strewing  the  ground.  In  fact,  a  whole 
civilization."^® 

Mitla,  in  the  Mexican  state  of  Oxaca,  is  one  of  the 
most  wonderful  of  all  the  ancient  ruined  cities,  and 
one  of  the  most  celebrated.  Baldwin  says:  "Four 
of  the  standing  edifices  are  described  by  Dupaix  as 
palaces,  and  these,  he  says,  were  erected  with  lavish 
magnificence;  .  .  .  they  combine  the  solidity  of  the 
works  of  Egypt,  with  the  elegance  of  those  of  Greece. 
And,  he  adds,  *But  what  is  most  remarkable,  inter- 
esting, and  striking  in  these  monuments,  and  which 
alone  would  be  sufficient  to  give  them  the  first  rank 
among  all  known  orders  of  architecture,  is  the  exe- 
cution of  their  mosaic  relievos,  very  different  from 
plain  mosaic,  and  consequently  requiring  more  inge- 
nious combination  and  greater  art  and  labor.'  '**» 

Charnay  quotes  a  distinguished  architect,  Viollet-le- 
Duc,  who  thus  describes  one  of  the  halls  of  Mitla: 
"The  three  doorways,  opening  into  the  great  apart- 
ment with  columns,  were  partly  walled  up  after  the 
erection  of  the  building,  but  are  plainly  visible. 
Over  the  doorways  are  four  round  holes,  into  which 
were  probably  fixed  hooks  supporting  a  portiere. 
The  monuments  of  Greece  and  Rome,  in  their  best 
time,  can  alone  compare  with  the  splendor  of  this 
great  edifice.  The  ornamentation  is  arranged  with 
perfect  symmetry,  the  joints  are  carefully  'cut,   the 

»»  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  pp.  107,  108,  100. 
»»Ancient  America,  pp.  118,  121. 


110  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

bed  and    arris    of    the    cornices   faultless,   showing 

that  the  builders  were  masters  of  their  art. "  ^  <» 

We  are  given  another  view  by  Charnay,  himself, 
illustrating  how,  through  all  the  ancient  remains,  the 
lines  are  crossed  by  a  grosser  civilization,  or  by  the 
fallen  stage  of  the  same  civilization.  '*The  next,  in 
our  general  view  of  Mitla,"  he  says,  "is  the  first 
edifice  to  the  slope  of  the  hill,  consisting  of  a  con- 
fusion of  courts,  buildings,  and  mosaic  work  in 
relief  of  beautiful  and  graceful  patterns.  Below  are 
found  traces  of  very  primitive  paintings  representing 
rude  fugures  of  idols  and  lines  forming  meanders,  the 
meaning  of  which  is  unknown.  The  same  rude  paint- 
ings are  found  throughout  the  palace  in  sheltered 
places  which  have  escaped  the  ravages  of  time.  That 
such  immature  drawings  should  be  found  in  palaces 
of  beautiful  architecture  decorated  with  panels  of 
exquisite  mosaic  work,  are  facts  which,  at  first  sight, 
make  it  difficult  to  ascribe  them  to  the  same  peo- 
ple."^ ^  Other  instances  might  be  cited  showing 
the  conflicting  marks  of  different  orders  of  civiliza- 
tion, but  sufficient  has  been  given  on  this  point  in  a 
previous  chapter. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  notice,  briefly,  some  of  the 
smaller  relics  that  afford  rays  of  light  upon  the  ques- 
tion of  what  that  ancient  civilization  might  have  been. 
A  panel  was  found  on  one  of  the  walls  of  a  palace, 
a  *'Beau  Relief,"  in  stucco,  which  in  idea,  design, 
and  sculptured  execution  is  declared  ** worthy  to  be 

2oAnclent  Cities  of  the  New  World,  pp.  503, 504. 

»'  Ibid.,  p.  501. 


i 

h 

^^B^^^p^' 

AND  ARCHJSOLOGY.  Ill 

compared  to  the  most  beautiful  works  of  the  age  of 
Augustus." 2 2  At  another  place  "Several  are  orna- 
mented with  life-sized  human  figures,  while  each 
panel  contains  a  human  face,  some  of  which  are  as 
beautiful  as  the  Greek  models." ^^ 

**In  the  gymnasium  at  Chichen-Itza,  Stephens 
grew  enthusiastic  over  the  exceeding  fine  series  of 
paintings  in  bright  colors,  which  cover  the  walls  of 
one  of  the  chambers.  Many  of  the  pictures  have 
been  destroyed  by  the  falling  of  the  plaster  upon 
which  they  were  painted.  In  this  series  of  pictures, 
battles,  processions,  houses,  trees,  and  a  variety  of 
objects  are  represented — blue,  red,  yellow,  and  green, 
are  the  colors  employed,  though  the  human  figures 
are  painted  reddish  brown." 2* 

Of  some  specimens  of  terra -cotta  work  we  are 
told,  **No  description  can  convey  any  idea  of  their 
beauty."  Short  speaks  of  a  vase  that  was  found, 
"equal  to  many  Etruscan  or  Greek  vases  in  grace- 
fulness of  outline."^* 

A  mosaic  knife  is  described  to  be  of  exceeding 
beauty,  and  so  wonderful  is  the  workmanship  of  it 
that  Mr.  Bancroft  is  amazed  that  a  people  who,  he  is 
so  sure,  were  in  the  stone  age,  should  be  "able  to 
execute  so  perfect  a  piece  of  work  as  the  handle 
exhibits."  2 « 

*»  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  388. 

"  Ibid,  395. 

**  Ibid,  396. 

»»  Ibid,  p.  413. 

««412. 


112  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

DID  THE  ANCIENT  AMERICANS  USE  IRON? 

Nothing  about  the  ancient  Americans  excites  more 
wonderment  than  does  the  supposed  fact  that  they 
had  no  iron  tools.  Every  antiquarian  asks  the  same 
question,  how  could  they  do  the  work  they  did  with 
such  tools,  only  as  they  are  supposed  to  have  had? 
How  could  they  get  along  without  iron?  Of  course 
those  acquainted  with  the  Book  of  Mormon  know 
it  says  that  the  people  did  have  iron.  But  archaeolo- 
gists have  believed,  until  quite  recently,  that  iron 
was  not  known  to  the  American  ancients  because 
none  had  been  found  in  their  ruins.  Now,  however, 
there  are  some  who  are  not  so  sure  about  it,  and  there 
are  writers  who  boldly  assert  that  iron  was  known 
back  there.  Donnelly  gives, us  the  following  inter- 
esting information  from  Foster's  Prehistoric  Races. 
'*In  the  *Mercurio  Peruano'  ...  it  is  stated  that 
anciently  the  Peruvian  sovereigns  worked  magnifi- 
cent iron  mines  at  Ancoriames,  on  the  west  shore  of 
Lake  Titicaca."  He  cites  us  to  another  testimony : 
"  'It  is  remarkable,'  says  Molina,  'that  iron,  which 
has  been  thought  unknown  to  the  ancient  Americans, 
had  particular  names  in  some  of  their  tongues.  In 
official  Peruvian  it  was  called  quillay,  and  in  Chilian 
panilic.  The  Mound-builders  fashioned  implements 
out  of  meteoric  iron.'  "  (a) 

In  a  mound  that  was  opened  at  Marietta,  Ohio, 
among  other  things,  "Two  or  three  pieces  of  copper 
tube   were  also  found,    filled    with    iron    rust,^\b) 

a)  Atlantis,  p.  451. 

b)  Ibid.,  p.  OT. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  113 

Other  relics  are  mentioned  which,  Squire  is  quoted  as 
saying,  "If  Doctor  Hildreth  is  not  mistaken,  oxydized 
iron  or  steel  was  also  discovered  in  connection  with 
the  above  remains,  from  which,  also,  follows  the 
extraordinary  conclusion  that  the  Mound -builders 
were  acquainted  with  the  use  of  iron,"  if,  he  says, 
the  articles  found  "are  genuine  relics  of  the  Mound- 
builders."  (c)  "We  find  the  remains  of  an  iron 
sword  and  meteoric  iron  weapons  in  the  mounds  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  "(d) 

The  weather  has  most  destructive  effect  on  iron. 
Any  one  may  observe  for  himself  how  soon  a  piece 
of  iron,  exposed  to  the  weather,  will  rust,  and  become 
rust  eaten.  It  can  be  easily  understood  that  after 
the  course  of  centuries  there  would  be  very  few  traces 
of  iron  to  be  found,  and  only,  at  all,  where  the  metal 
had  been  protected  from  the  weather.  There  has, 
recently,  been  a  report  widely  circulated  in  the  news- 
papers, of  archaeological  finds  in  New  Mexico,  and 
-Southern  Colorado,  from  which  we  give  this  extract : 
"In  one  of  these  old  ruins  a  smelter  was  found, 
and  near  the  old  furnace  was  a  large  iron  bar,  cov- 
ered with  rust. "(e) 

(c)  Ibid.,  p.  378. 

(d)  Ibid.,  p.  462. 

(e)  Saints'  Herald,  Sept.  19,  1900,  or  Chicago  Tribune,  Aug. 
26,  1900. 


CHARACTER    OF  THE  ANCIENT  AMERICAN    CIVILI- 
ZATION AND   COLOR  OF  THE   PEOPLE. 

CHARACTER   OF  THE  ANCIENT  CIVILIZATION. 

Antiquarians  differ  widely  in  their  estimates  of 
the  ancient  civilization  of  Mexico,  Central  America, 
and  Peru.  One  writer  says  the  people  were  a  *'semi- 
barbarous  race."  The  writer  to  whom  we  refer  for 
illustration  is  Charnay,  and  Charnay,  the  student 
will  discover,  is  to  be  valued  more  for  the  things  he 
saw  and  describes,  than  for  his  opinions  about  them, 
or  the  penetration  and  consistency  of  his  reasoning. 
He  speaks  of  the  monuments  as  "rude  manifesta- 
tions," forgetting  that  he  has  called  our  attention  to 
architecture,  to  some  specimen  of  workmanship,  to  a 
piece  of  mosaic,  or  an  example  of  sculpture,  that 
others,  as  well  as  himself,  have  declared  to  be  equal 
to  the  best  of  Egypt,  Greece,  or  Rome.  It  is  not  to 
be  denied  that  the  ruins  exhibit  *'rude  manifesta- 
tions" abundantly,  but  why  pass  by  the  marks  of  a 
higher  culture  and  truer  conceptions  that  shine  out  of 
the  darkness  like  gleams  of  light? 

How  shall  we  account  for  the  strange  indications  of 
exalted  moral  ideas  and  fine  sense  of  humanity  among 
a  people  of  the  barbaric  nature  of  the  Aztecs,  as 
exhibited  in  such  facts  as  that  no  one  was  born 
in.  slavery  among  them,  **an  honorable  distinc- 
tion not  known  in   any  civilized  oommunity  where 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  115 

slavery  has  been  sanctioned;"  hospitals  for  the  sick 
and  wounded,  "ranked  among  the  beneficent  fruits 
of  Christianity;"  the  respected  position  of  women, 
another  advanced  civilization  mark;  such  a  doc- 
trine as  "for  the  multiplication  of  the  species  God 
ordained  one  man  only  for  one  woman"? 

Or,  what  shall  we  say  about  such  a  social  system 
as  the  Peruvians  had,  that  permitted  no  individual  to 
suffer  for  the  necessities  of  life?  What  shall  we  say 
about  that  wonderful  development  of  intellectual  and 
scientific  progress,  the  Mexican  calendar?  Again, 
Mr.  Short  tells  us:  "In  the  study  of  American  lan- 
guages it  has  often  been  a  matter  of  surprise  that 
their  structure  and  expression  indicate  a  degree  of 
perfection  far  in  advance  of  the  civilization  out  of 
which  they  sprang."^ 

It  might  be  convenient  for  a  class  of  theorists  to 
ignore  these  things,  but  they  remain  as  stubborn 
facts,  and  have  to  be  taken  into  account.  The  Aztecs 
and  the  Incas  can  not  be  rated  lower  than  semi- 
barbarians" — they  are  not  rated  lower -and  yet  it  is 
admitted  that  these  advanced  results  were  not  of  their 
producing.  They  did  not  create  those  remarkable 
institutions,  the  "imperfect  reflections"  of  which  were 
found  among  them.  How  manifestly  absurd,  then, 
to  call  the  people  who  did  originate  and  develop  these 
things  "semibarbarians!" 

The  Aztecs  and  the  Incas  are  ranked  in  the  class  of 
semicivilized  nations;  shall  the  people  from  whom 
they  borrowed  the  best  of  all  they  had  be  ranked  no 
higher?    It  is  a  scientific   principle  that  a  fountain 

*  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  470. 


116  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

can  not  rise  higher  than  its  source.  We  have  seen, 
from  what  their  inferior  successors  displayed,  that 
the  ancient  people  must  have  been  an  agricultural,  a 
scientific,  an  educational,  and  a  literary  people.  They 
must  have  had  government,  laws,  and  arts.  The 
remains  evince  the  powers  of  the  people  in  archi- 
tecture, building,  workmanship,  engineering,  and 
mechanics.  All  the  departments  of  civilization  were 
known  to  them.  As  to  how  high  their  progress 
reached,  thej*e  is  little  left  to  speak  for  them,  to  be 
sure,  but  that  little  is  significant.  A  people  who 
could  produce  results  that  were  equal  to  the  best  of 
the  most  polished  nations  of  Eastern  antiquity, — and 
some  of  the  work  displayed  in  the  ruins,  we  are  told, 
**can  not  be  excelled  by  the  best  of  our  constructors 
and  decorators,"^  were  not  inferior  to  their  own  crea- 
tions. The  ability  of  a  nation  can  not  be  less  than  its 
achievements.  A  people  who  were  capable  of  what 
little  there  has  remained  for  us  to  see  were  capable  of 
more  of  the  same  order,  at  least.  These  signs  indi- 
cate to  some  degree,  what  the  possibilities  of  the  peo- 
ple must  have  been.  They  are  hints  of  the  high 
marks  to  which  their  civilization  must  have  attained. 

COLOR  OF  THE  ANCIENT  AMERICANS. 

We  have  previously,  in  referring  to  the  predeces- 
sors of  the  Incas,  cited  to  an  authority  who  says  that 
they  were  "a  fair-skinned  race,  with  blue  eyes  and 
light  and  even  auburn  hair."^  We  now  wish  to  pre- 
sent other  evidence  in  regard  to  the  identity  of  the 

^Ancient  America,  p.  101. 
«  Atlantis,  p.  391. 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  117 

original  civilizers  of  ancient  America,  that  it  may  be 
seen  whether  the  Book  of  Mormon  states  an  improb- 
able thing  when  it  says  that  the  authors  of  the 
ancient  civilization  of  this  continent  were  a  branch  of 
the  white  race. 

Speaking  of  the  ruins  near  Huamanga,  in  Peru, 
Baldwin  says,  *'The  native  traditions  said  this  city 
was  built  by  'bearded  white  men,'  who  came  there 
long  before  the  time  of  the  Incas."*  Prescott  says, 
"Another  legend  speaks  of  certain  white  and  bearded 
men  who,  advancing  from  the  shores  of  Lake  Titi- 
caca,  established  an  ascendency  over  the  natives 
and  imparted  to  them  the  blessings  of  civilization."^ 
"The  ancient  Peruvians  appear,  from  numerous 
examples  of  hair  found  in  their  tombs,  to  have  been 
an  auburn-haired  race."  Speaking  of  three  mum- 
mies found  in  a  cave  on  the  south  side  of  the  Cum- 
berland River,  Short  says,  "They  were  buried  in 
baskets,  as  Humboldt  has  described  some  of  the 
Peruvians  to  bury,  and  the  color  of  their  skin  was 
said  to  be  fair  and  white,  and  their  hair  auburn  and 
of  fine  texture."^ 

"That  the  population  of  Central  America  (and  in 

this  term  I  include  Mexico)  was  at  one  time  very 

dense,"  says  Donnelly,  "and  had  attained  to  a  high 

degree   of    civilization,   higher    even    than    that    of 

Europe  in  the  time  of  Columbus,  there   can   be  no 

question;  and  it  is  also  probable,  as  I  have  shown, 

that  they  originally  belonged  to  the  white  race."' 

*  Ancient  America,  p.  243. 

B  Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  1,  p.  10. 

•North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  187. 

»  Atlantis,  p.  349. 


118  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

**Viollet  le  Due  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  builders  of 
the  great  remains  in  Southern  Mexico  and  Yucatan 
belonged  to  a  light -skinned  and  a  dark-skinned  race 
respectively."®  He  thinks  it  certain  that  Mitla  and 
Palenque  were  influenced  by  a  white  race." **  Bald- 
win says  that  the  advocates  of  the  Phoenician  theory 
for  the  origin  of  the  aboriginal  Americans  tried  to 
support  their  theory  by  "an  old  tradition  of  the  native 
Mexicans  and  Central  Americans  describing  the  first 
civilizers  as  *bearded  white  men.'"^**  Bancroft 
quotes  Garcia — "The  builders  of  the  Central  Ameri- 
can cities,  he  says,  are  reported  to  have  been  of  fair 
complexion  and  bearded."^  ^ 

It  was  the  color  of  the  Spaniards,  we  learn,  no  less 
than  their  power,  that  awed  the  nations  that  were 
discovered  here.  The  natives  had  traditions  about 
the  original  possessors  of  the  land  having  been  white, 
and  the  great  Culture -heroes,  about  whom  we  shall 
speak  more  in  a  future  chapter,  figured  in  vague 
myths  as  being  white.  When  they  saw  the  Span- 
iards, the  natives,  in  their  pitiable  superstition,  at 
once  connected  the  powerful,  pale-faced  strangers 
with  the  traditions.  The  following  is  from  a  speech 
which  it  is  recorded  that  the  Aztec  emperor,  Monte- 
zuma, made  to  the  Spanish  conqueror,  Cortez: 
*'  'For  a  long  time,'  said  Montezuma  at  his  first 
interview  with  Cortez,  *has  it  been  handed  down  that 
we  are  not  the  original  possessors  of  this  land,  but 
came  hither  from  a  distant  region  under  the  guidance 

8  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  190. 

« Ibid.,  p.  382. 

1"  Ancient  America,  p.  173. 

1 1  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  77. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  119 

of  a  ruler  who  afterwards  left  us  and  returned.  We 
have  ever  believed  that  some  day  his  descendants 
would  come  and  resume  dominion  over  us.  Inas- 
much as  you  are  from  that  direction,  which  is  toward 
the  rising  sun,  and  serve  so  great  a  king  as  you 
describe,  we  believe  that  he  is  also  our  natural  lord, 
and  are  ready  to  submit  ourselves  to  him.'  "^^ 

There  was  evidently  the  same  confused  idea  in 
Peru.  "When  Hernando  de  Soto  on  landing  in  Peru 
first  met  Inca  Huascar,  the  latter  related  an  ancient 
prophecy  which  his  father,  Huayna  Capac,  had 
repeated  on  his  dying  bed,  to  the  effect  that  in  the 
reign  of  the  thirteenth  Inca,  white  men  (viracochas) 
of  surpassing  strength  and  valor  would  come  from 
their  father  the  sun  and  subject  to  their  rule  the 
nations  of  the  world.  *I  command  you,'  said  the 
dying  monarch,  *to  yield  them  homage  and  obedi- 
ence, for  they  will  be  a  nation  superior  to  ours.'  "^^ 

Nor  is  this  all  the  evidence  there  is  on  this  subject. 
It  is  surprising,  to  one  who  learns  of  it  for  the  first 
time,  to  know  how  wide -spread  were  the  traditions 
about  an  early  pale-faced  people.  We  remember, 
when  a  child  at  school,  the  stories  we  read  in  our 
United  States  history  which  the  Indians  told  Colum- 
bus about  *'a  *white  man's  land'  to  the  southward, 
where  fair-faced  processions  marched  in  white 
robes,"  etc.,   etc.^* 

Dr.  Brinton  gives  us  the  following  information : 

**The  Maryland  Indians  said  the  whites  were  an 

"  Myths  of  the  New  World,  p.  220. 

i«Ibid.,p.  221. 

^*  Electic  History  of  the  United  States,  p.  11. 


120  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

ancient  generation  who  had  come  to  life  again,  and 
had  returned  to  seize  their  former  land."  The 
natives  of  Haiti  had  similar  ideas,  also  the  Lenape 
and  Delaware  Indians.^*  *'The  Algonkins  with  one 
voice  called  those  of  their  tribes  living  near  the  rising 
sun  Abnakis,  our  ancestors  at  the  east,  or  at  the 
dawn;  literally,  our  w;Ar7e  ancestors."^®  The  Shaw - 
nees  are  said  to  have  claimed  that  the  ancient  inhab- 
itants of  Florida  were  white.  ^  "^ 

Indeed,  so  much  has  been  found  in  traditions  to  the 
effect  that  the  predecessors  or  ancestors  of  the  natives 
were  white,  that  writers  can  not  overlook  the  circum- 
stance. Some  writers  frankly  admit  that  there  must 
have  been  a  substantial  basis  for  such  a  wide -spread 
idea.  Other  writers  endeavor  to  argue  away  from 
this  conclusion  and  invent  the  most  vapory  supposi- 
tions to  undermine  the  idea  that  substantial  facts 
were  the  foundation  for  the  traditions.  Doctor  Brin- 
ton  presents  an  exhaustive  array  of  legendary  evi- 
dence referring  to  white  predecessors,  and  then 
attempts  to  spiritualize  it  all  with  the  theory  that  the 
native  idea  of  whiteness  was  only  symbolic — **the 
propensity  of  -the  human  mind  to  attribute  its  own 
origin  and  culture  to  that  white -shining  orient  where 
sun,  moon,  and  stars  are  daily  born  in  renovated 
glory,  to  that  fair  mother  who,  at  the  cost  of  her  own 
life,  gives  light  and  joy  to  the  world,  the  glowing 
bosom  of  the  Dawn."  (Myths  of  the  New  World,  p. 
209.)     What  silly  extremes  some  learned  minds  will 

"  Myths  of  the  New  World,  p.  221. 

i«Ibid.,p.  207. 

^"^  Prehistoric  America,  p.  17. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  .121 

go  to,  will  they  not,  m  an  endeavor  to  evade  a  little 
simple,  practical  logic?  It  will  be  seen  that  the  wis- 
dom of  some  of  these  erudite  gentlemen  is  not  a  for- 
midable thing  to  meet,  and  yet  the  young  student 
might  be  annoyed  to  come  across  it  unprepared;  and 
besides,  we  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  present- 
ing evidence  with  only  one  side,  the  favorable  opinion 
of  the  writers,  always,  who  furnish  it.  As  we  have 
suggested  to  the  young  student  before,  it  is  our  privi- 
lege to  search  for  evidence  and  facts  and  use  them 
independently  of  the  construction  that  speculative 
theory  may  place  upon  them. 

Facts  presented  by  Donnelly  about  the  varied  com- 
plexions and  types  among  the  Indian  tribes  are  sig- 
nificant in  connection  with  the  Book  of  Mormon 
declaration  to  the  Nephites  that  they  should  never  be 
utterly  destroyed,  but  that  their  blood  should  be 
mixed  with  the  blood  of  their  brethren,  the  Laman- 
ites.^^  Says  Donnelly,  **When  we  turn  to  America 
we  find  that  the  popular  opinion  that  all  Indians  are 
*red  men,'  and  of  the  same  hue  from  Patagonia  to 
Hudson's  Bay,  is  a  gross  error."  He  quotes  Prich- 
ard:  "It  will  be  easy  to  show  that  the  American 
races  show  nearly  as  great  a  variety  in  this  respect 
as  the  nations  of  the  old  continent;  there  are  among 
them  white  races  with  a  florid  complexion,  and  tribes 
black  or  of  a  very  dark  hue;  that  their  stature, 
figure,  and  countenance  are  almost  equally  diversi- 
fied." John  T.  Short  is  quoted:  *'The  Menominees, 
sometimes  called  the  White  Indians^  formerly  occu- 
rs INephi,  3:120;  Alma  21:10,  large  edition;  lNephi3:40; 
Alma  21 :  2,  small  edition. 


122  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

pied  the  region  bordering  on  Lake  Michigan,  around 
Green  Bay.  The  whiteness  of  these  Indians,  which 
is  compared  to  that  of  white  mulattoes,  early 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries, 
and  has  often  been  commented  on  by  travelers." 

Another  reference  given  tells  us; — *'Many  of  the 
Indians  of  Zuni  (New  Mexico)  are  white.  They  have 
a  fair  skin,  blue  eyes,  chestnut  or  auburn  hair." 
Catlin  says:  ** A  stranger  in  the  Mandan  village  is 
first  struck  with  the  different  shades  of  complexion 
and  various  colors  of  hair  which  he  sees  in  a  crowd 
about  him,  and  is  at  once  disposed  to  exclaim,  *these 
are  not  Indians.'  There  are  a  great  many  of  these 
people  whose  complexions  appear  as  light  as  half- 
breeds  ;  and  among  the  women  particularly  there  are 
many  whose  skins  are  almost  white,  with  the  most 
pleasing  symmetry  and  proportion  of  feature;  with 
hazel,  with  gray,  and  with  blue  eyes ;  with  mildness 
and  sweetness  of  expression  and  excessive  modesty 
of  demeanor,  which  render  them  exceedingly  pleasing 
and  beautiful.  Why  this  diversity  of  complexions  I 
can  not  tell,  nor  can  they  themselves  account  for 
it."^®  There  is  no  theory,  no  book,  no  authority 
that  does  offer  an  explanation  for  these  singular  cir- 
cumstances except  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  in  it  we 
find  an  explanation  that  meets  the  case  exactly. 

TRADITIONAL  HISTORY. 

As  we  have  mentioned  before,  the  more  advanced 
nations  that  were  found  here  by  the  discoverers  made 
an  attempt  to  tell  the  story  of  their  history  in  written 

»»  See  Atlantis,  Part  3,  chap.  5,  pp.  183-193. 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  123 

accounts  which  they  preserved.  Two  Maya  records 
which  were  secured  were  the  Tzen  Jal  and  the  Quiche, 
the  Quiche  record  being  one  of  the  most  important 
traditional  sources.  This  record,  or  book,  is  called 
the  Popol  Vuh.  Then  there  were  the  Mexican  rec- 
ords, one  of  which  was  the  Codex  Chimalpopoca. 
These  traditional  records  were  written  in  the  respec- 
tive languages  of  the  native  peoples  from  whom  they 
were  obtained,  and  our  knowledge  of  th^  records  has 
been  given  to  us  through  the  translations  which  were 
made  into  modern  languages  by  European  scholars 
soon  after  the  Conquest.  **The  books  preserved  fur- 
nish little  more  than  vague  outlines  of  the  past,"  says 
Professor  Baldwin,  *'with  obscure  views  of  distant 
periods  in  the  history,"  yet  it  must  be  understood 
that  ''the  legendary  history  of  any  nation  may  be  con- 
fused, exaggerated,  and  besides  full  of  breaks,  still 
there  are  some  main  and  fundamental  facts  out  of 
which  it  has  grown,"  as  Mr.  Short  tells  us. 

THE  BIBLE -LIKE  STORY  FOR  THE  ORIGIN   OF  MAN. 

The  story  that  all  these  traditions  tell  are  very 
much  the  same  in  many  important  respects,  and  they 
endeavor,  besides  giving  an  account  of  their  own  his- 
tory from  the  beginning,  to  give  an  account  of  the 
origin  of  the  human  race  which  is  very  much  like  the 
Genesis  story,  and  let  the  skeptic  consider  how  that 
could  be  if  the  ancient  Americans  had  no  knowledge 
of  the  Old  Testament  scriptures  as  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon says  they  had.  Translations  of  the  traditions 
give  the  story  of  the  creation  like  this,  **a  time  when 
all  was  silent  and  there  was  yet  no  earth,  and  no  liv- 


124  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

ing  thing,  only  the  immobility  and  silence  of  a 
boundless  sea,  on  the  surface  of  which  floated  the 
Creator  and  his  companion  deities,  .  .  .  including 
Gucumatz,  the  'plumed  serpent.'  Then  the  light 
appeared,  and  the  earth  with  its  vegetation  was 
created  by  Gucumatz  and  the  Dominator  at  the 
word  of  Hurakan,  Heart  of  Heaven,  the  Thun- 
derbolt. Life  and  fecundity  were  distributed  as 
guardians  of  the  forests  and  mountains,  and  called 
upon  to  speak  and  praise  the  name  of  those  that 
had  made  them,"  etc.,  etc.  Then  follows  the  story 
of  the  creation  of  man.  This  is  the  translation  Ban- 
croft gives  us  from  the  Popo?  Vuh,^ 

In  due  course  man  **became  very  numerous  on 
the  face  of  the  earth,  but  the  gods  were  wroth,  and 
sent  upon  them  a  flood,  "^  ^e  are  told,  and  some  of 
the  traditions  refer  to  Babel,  or  the  confusion  of 
tongues,  when  mankind  was  scattered  over  the 
earth.  A  very  ancient  tradition  tells  how  it  was 
undertaken  to  build  a  tower  that  should  reach  to 
the  sky.  The  *'Lord  of  Heaven"  became  "enraged, 
and  said  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  sky,  *Have  you 
observed  how  they  of  the  earth  have  built  a  high 
and  haughty  tower  to  mount  hither,  being  enam- 
ored of  the  light  of  the  sun  and  its  beauty?  Come! 
and  confound  them ;  because  it  is  not  right  that  they 

1  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  171;  North  Americans  of  Antiquity, 
pp.  212,  213.  For  accounts  of  the  creation  in  other  traditions, 
see  Native  Races,  vol.5,  pp.  193,209;  Ancient  America,  pp.  194, 
195;  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  236. 

2  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  172;  also  see  pp.  193,  209;  North 
Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  213,  214,  229,  235;  Atlantis,  pp. 
98-118;  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  3,  Appendix,  Part  1,  p.  363. 


AND  ARCHJB30L0GY.  125 

of  the  earth,  living  in  the  flesh,  should  mingle  with 
us.'  Immediately,  at  that  very  instant  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  sky  sallied  forth  like  flashes  of  lightning; 
they  destroyed  the  edifice  and  divided  and  scattered 
its  builders  to  all  parts  of  the  earth.  "^ 

THE   STORY  OF  THE  ANCIENT    NATION. 

Then  the  records  take  up  the  story  of  the  national 
history,  beginning  from  the  time  that  the  ancient 
people  left  their  first  home,  which  is  called  Tulan 
in  Maya  tradition,  and  Huehue  Tlapallan  in  some  of 
the  Mexican  traditions — Atzlan  in  the  Aztec  legends.* 
There  is  an  account  of  long  wanderings  by  land 
and  sea  after  they  left  their  first  home,  which  was 
toward  the  "rising  sun."  In  the  early  part  of  the 
story  a  lamentation  is  chanted  which  *'has  consid- 
erable historic  importance,"  says  Mr.  Bancroft. 
"  'Alas,'  they  said,  'we  were  ruined  in  Tulan,  we 
were  separated,  and  our  brothers  still  remain 
behind.' "5 

Enemies,  struggles  with  a  rival  or  antagonistic 
people  occupy  an  important  place  in  all  the  traditions. 
They  live  for  a  time  in  one  place,  then  their  enemies 
force  them  out  and  they  must  seek  new  homes.  One 
of  the  traditions  tells  how  they  were  counseled  by 
a  great  astrologer  **to  forsake  the  land  of  their  mis- 
fortunes and  journey  toward  the  rising  sun,  where 
there     was    a    happy    land    formerly    occupied    by 

8  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  237;  Rice's  Introduc- 
tion to  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  16;  Native  Races, 
vol.  5,  pp.209,  17,  18. 

*  See  Atlantis,  pp.  165-170. 

"Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  182. 


126  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

Quinames,  but  now  depopulated."'  Mr.  Bancroft 
notes,  among  the  '* resemblances  in  general  features," 
in  all  the  traditions,  "the  ancient  settlement  and 
growth  to  power;"  **the  destruction  of  a  rival 
power,"  the  **forced  migration  to  new  homes. ""^ 

The  Maya  records  speak  of  enemies  existing  way- 
back  in  the  time  of  the  Votanic  empire,  the  empire  of 
ancient  glory  and  greatness.  The  Nahua  or  Mexi- 
can traditions  say  that  these  enemies  who  are  called 
Chichimecs  were  their  neighbors  from  the  misty  dawn 
of  their  history.®  These  Chichimec  enemies  are 
referred  to  so  far  back  that  some  antiquarians  think 
they  were  the  most  ancient  people  on  this  continent, 
and  that  they  must  have  been  found  here  by  the 
oldest  civilized  nation.^  They  are  described  as  hav- 
ing been  outside  nations  or  tribes,  ''a  barbarous  peo- 
ple who  lived  by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  had 
neither  towns  nor  agriculture."^*'  They  continually 
tormented  the  civilized  nations,  **raided  upon  their 
rich  and  powerful  neighbors  for  purposes  of  plun- 
der,"^ ^  Mr.  Bancroft  tells  us,  and  carried  on  "har- 
rassing  warfare"  with  them. 

An  important  event  is  described  in  the  traditions 
of  Yucatan  about  the  coming  of  a  **peaceful,  highly 
cultivated  people  from  the  south,"  who  are  called 
the  Tutul  Xius.  These  people,  we  are  told,  were 
most  kindly  received  by  the  residents  of  the  coun- 

«  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  245. 
7  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  216. 
eibid.,  p.  218. 

9  Ancient  America,  p.  198. 

10  Ibid. 

1 1  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  390. 


AND  ARCHJSOLOGY.  127 

try,  which  was  not  necessarily  Yucatan,  and  they 
soon  became  the  leading  element  in  the  nation, 
the  ruling  power.  They  were  opposed  to  all  oppres- 
sion and  injustice.  Theirs  was  a  "liberal  policy  to 
all  classes,'*  and  Bancroft  says  that  the  reign  of 
the  Tutul  Xius  **was  doubtless  the  most  glorious 
period  of  Maya  history."^ ^  In  the  Book  of  Mormon 
we  read  that  a  people  called  Nephites  came  up 
from  the  south  to  Zarahemla,  in  the  northern  part  of 
South  America ;  that  these  immigrants  were  the  most 
righteous  portion  of  the  people  from  whom  they  had 
separated,  and  that  they  were  gladly  received  and 
welcomed  to  make  their  homes  among  the  Zara- 
hemlaites.  Their  leader,  Mosiah,  was  chosen  to  be 
the  ruler;  indeed,  the  national  name  was  called 
after  the  newcomers,  and  the  era  which  followed 
the  confederation  of  the  Nephites  and  the  Zara- 
hemlaites  was  the  grandest  in  Nephite  history. 

There  was  a  wonderful  personage  who  made  a 
deep  impression  in  the  history  of  the  ancient  Ameri- 
can peoples.  Archaeologists  call  this  personage  the 
**Culture-Hero."  He  marks  an  epoch  in  all  the 
traditions,  but  as  we  have  devoted  a  future  chapter 
to  this  subject,  we  will  not  describe  this  remarkable 
character  here,  nor  tell  of  the  effect  his  appearance 
and  teachings  had  in  the  life  and  ideas  of  the 
people. 

Writers  observe  that  there  must  have  been  a 
close  connection  between  church  and  state  in  the 
ancient  empire  because  the  traditions  indicate  that 
the  spiritual  head  was  also,  to  a  considerable  extent, 

"Ibid.,  pp.  227,631,  632. 


128  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

a  leader  in  temporal  affairs.  Religious  principles 
were  understood  to  apply  to  the  duties  of  life,  and  the 
spiritual  leaders  were  also  counselors  in  national 
transactions,  and  in  the  dealings  of  men  with  their 
fellow  men.  They  were  advisers  and  shepherds 
in  all  things.  We  are  told  that  when  their  fathers 
crossed  the  sea,  they  were  "guided  by  a  priest/* 
and  that  never  did  they  cease  to  have  "their  wise 
men,  or  prophets." ^^  In  the  days  of  the  Aztecs 
the  patriarchal  plan  had  degenerated  into  priest- 
craft. The  Aztec  priests  tyrannized  and  dominated 
in  everything.  It  only  affords  another  example  of 
the  fact  that  history  repeats  itself.  It  was  the  same 
in  the  apostasy  that  took  place  after  the  introduction 
of  Christianity.  Upon  the  divinely  ordained  plan 
of  prophets  and  apostles,  popery  and  priestcraft 
reared  their  stifling,  tyrannical  rule,  and  molded  the 
long  era  of  the  Dark  Ages.  It  has  ever  been  the 
object  of  the  adversary  to  degrade  and  pervert  God's 
means  and  plans,  and  whenever  people  have  yielded 
to  Satanic  persuasion  they  have  been  led  in  much 
the  same  way. 

Professor  Baldwin  says,  "Brasseur  de  Bourbourg 
claims  that  there  is  in  the  old  Central  American 
books  a  constant  tradition  of  an  immense  catastro- 
phe." "The  land  was  shaken  by  frightful  earth- 
quakes, and  the  waves  of  the  sea  combined  with  vol- 
canic fires  to  overwhelm  and  ingulf  it."^*  Mr. 
Bancroft  probably  refers  to  the  same  event.  It 
lasted  for  several  days,  he  says,  "and  all  this  time 

laibid.,  pp.  249,  189. 

»<  Ancient  America,  p.  176. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  129 

they  were  in  darkness,  seeing  neither  sun  nor 
moon."^^  Other  writers,  also,  describe  these  cir- 
cumstances, which  correspond  remarkably  with  the 
calamitous  demonstrations  of  nature  recorded  by  the 
Book  of  Mormon  to  have  taken  place  on  this  con- 
tinent at  the  time  of  the  crucifixion  of  Christ.* 

The  Nahua  traditions  tell  about  a  divine  book, 
the  Teoamoxtli,  or  "hook  of  God."  Mr.  Bancroft 
describes  it  thus:  "In  its  pages  were  described  the 
Nahua  annals  ^rom  the  time  of  the  deluge,  or  even 
from  the  creation;  together  with  all  their  religious 
rites,  governmental  system,  laws  and  social  customs ; 
their  knowledge  respecting  agriculture  and  all  the 
arts  and  sciences,  particular  attention  being  given 
to  astrology;  and  a  complete  explanation  of  their 
modes  of  reckoning  time  and  interpreting  the  hiero- 
glyphics. To  the  divine  book  was  added  a  chap- 
ter of  prophecies  respecting  future  events  and  the 
signs  by  which  it  should  be  known  when  the  time 
of  their  fulfillment  was  drawing  near."  There  was 
reference  to  prophecies  about  "great  calamities" 
that  "Tloque  Nahuaque,  the  great  God,"  would 
send  upon  the  people,  "like  unto  which  their  ances- 
tors were  afflicted  in  the  remote  past,"  and  that  the 
kingdom  would  be  destroyed  and  the  people  perish.*^ 
Is  it  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  in  this  tradition 
about  a  "book  of  God,"  we  have  a  clouded  memory 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which  record  was  kept  from 

i»  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  209;  also  see  Delafield's  Antiquities 
of  America,  pp.  34-41. 
♦  See  Book  of  Nephi  (son  of  Nephi),  Chapter  4. 
»« Native  Races,  vol.  5,  pp.  251,  252. 


130  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

one  generation  to   another    by    the    church  in  the 
ancient  nation? 

The  last  chapters  of  the  traditions  tell  a  sad  story 
of  wickedness,  troubles,  and  strife.  The  people  had 
so  far  departed  from  God  that  they  began  to  wor- 
ship idols  and  offer  up  human  sacrifices.  The  ele- 
ment **belonging  to  the  sect  of  QuetzalcoatF'  (that 
great,  good  man  to  whom  we  have  referred  as  called 
the  *' Culture -Hero"  by  archaeological  writers)  tried 
to  "restrain  the  practice  of  human  sacrifice  if  not 
altogether  abolish  it  in  the  temples,'***^  Mr.  Bancroft 
tells  us,  but  to  no  avail.  **The  leaders  of  the  rival 
sect,  followers  of  the  bloody  Tezcatlipoca  and  bitter 
enemies  to  all  followers  of  Quetzalcoatl,  although 
now  in  the  minority  were  constantly  intriguing  for 
the  fall  of  Huenac,"^^  a  ruler  who  was  at  this  time 
championing  the  cause  of  the  followers  of  Quetzal- 
coatl. "Vice  took  complete  possession  of  society  in 
all  its  classes,  spreading  to  cities  and  provinces."^* 
The  traditions  speak  of  plagues  and  afflictions  that 
were  visited  upon  the  Toltecs, — "calamitous  inun- 
dations, tempests,  droughts,  famine,  and  pestilence," 
says  Charnay,^*'  which  the  traditions  attributed  to 
the  wickedness  that  was  being  done.  Mr.  Bancroft 
sums  up  the  traditions  on  this  point  thus:  "All 
we  may  learn  from  the  confused  accounts,  is  that 
the  Toltec  empire  at  this  period  was  afflicted  with 
war,  famine,  and  pestilence."^ ^ 

•  i^ibid.,  pp.  267,  268. 
isibid.,  p.  268. 
i^Ibid.,  p.  277. 

2  0 Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  125. 
^^  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  275. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  131 

The  last  century  of  the  Toltecs,  Mr.  Bancroft  says, 
was  *'a  century  whose  annals  form  a  continuous  rec- 
ord of  civil  and  religious  strife."*^  But  Mr.  Ban- 
croft can  not  credit  that  the  destruction  of  the 
people  could  have  been  so  great  as  the  traditions 
say  it  was  even  after  the  **many  years  of  strife, 
famine,  and  pestilence,"^ ^  as  he  interprets  the  rec- 
ords, yet  it  is  significant  that  the  traditions  agree 
exactly  on  this  point  with  the  statements  of  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  All  this  resulted,  however,  Mr. 
Bancroft  informs  us,  "in  the  utter  overthrow  of 
the  Toltec  empire,"**  leaving  the  country  "broken 
up  into  small  states,"  says  Professor  J.  D.  Bald- 
win, "two  OP  three  centuries  before  the  Aztecs 
appeared."** 

The  Maya  traditions  tell  the  same  story.  They 
are  summed  up  as  follows,  by  Bancroft:  The  tra- 
ditions "point  clearly  to  1st,  the  existence  in  ancient 
times  of  a  great  empire,"  and  of  course  he  places  it 
in  Central  America;  '"2d,  the  growth  of  a  rival 
power;  3d,  a  long  struggle  extending  through  several 
generations  at  least,  and  resulting  in  the  downfall  of 
the  Xibalban  kings;  4th,  a  subsequent  scattering, 
the  cause  of  which  is  not  stated,  but  was  evidently 
war,  civil  and  foreign." ^^ 

Compare  this  account  with  the  account  of  the 
decline  of  the  ancient  nation  of  Peru.  Montesinos, 
who  is  said  to  be  the  best  authority  we  have  on  the 

»*Ibid.,p.  266. 

*8  Ibid.,  p.  287. 

»<  Ibid.,  p.  266;  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  125. 

««  Ancient  America,  p.  198. 

»«  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  pp.  185, 186. 


132  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

ancient  civilization  of  Peru,  divides  Peruvian  history 
into  ** three  distinct  periods.''  "First,  there  was  a 
period  which  began  with  the  origin  of  civilization, 
and  lasted  until  the  first  or  second  century  of  the 
Christian  era.  Second,  there  was  a  period  of  disin- 
tegration, decline,  and  disorder,  introduced  by  suc- 
cessive invasion  from  the  east  and  southeast,  during 
which  the  country  was  broken  up  into  small  states 
and  many  of  the  arts  of  civilization  were  lost." 
**Third,  and  last,  came  the  period  of  the  Incas."^'' 

2^  Ancient  America,  p.  264. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  ANCIENT  AMERICANS. 
THE  "CULTURE -HERO." 

The  great  reason  the  Book  of  Mormon  gives  for 
its  existence  is  that  it  is  another  witness  that  Jesus  is 
the  Son  of  God.  It  is  the  testimony  of  another  people 
— a  separate  people — the  ancient  people  of  the  West- 
ern World  confirming  the  testimony  of  the  ancient 
people  of  the  Eastern  World  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ, 
the  Savior  of  the  world.  It  is  also  a  testimony  to  the 
fairness  and  impartiality  of  God  in  that  he  gives  all 
his  children  equal  opportunities  of  salvation,  not 
revealing  the  way  of  life  everlasting  to  one  portion  of 
mankind,  and  withholding  it  from  another.  In  this 
paper  we  endeavor  to  point  out  to  the  young  student 
some  of  the  signs  from  archaeological  sources  that 
indicate  that  Christ  did  appear  unto  the  ancient 
Americans,  and  established  his  teachings  among 
them. 

All  authorities  agree  that  the  religion  of  the  ancient 
civilized  nations  was  very  different  from  that  of  the 
Aztecs  and  the  Incas.  "The  religion  of  the  Toltecs," 
says  Charnay,  "was  mild,  like  their  disposition;  no 
human  blood  ever  stained  their  altar." ^  He  further 
says  that  "all  writers  agree  that  the  monuments 
devoted  to  this  horrible  practice  (human  sacrifice) 
date  from   the  fifteenth  century  (1440),  and  are  of 

1  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  88. 


134  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

Aztec  origin."*  "While  it  is  true,  in  a  national  sense, 
that  the  Toltecs  did  not  offer  human  sacrifice,  we 
have  seen  that  in  the  later  days  there  was  a  faction 
that  began  to  teach  idolatry,  and  the  evil  that  usually 
follows,  human  sacrifice,  but  that  this  movement  was 
an  apostasy  from  the  religion  of  the  Toltecs,  and 
that  the  followers  of  Quetzalcoatl,  who  belonged  to 
the  representative  Toltec  church,  labored  hard  to 
restrain  the  evil  tendencies.  A  ruler  of  the  Aztec 
period,  Nezahualcoyotl,  acknowledged  the  pure  char- 
acter of  the  Toltec  religion,  and  ** strenuously 
endeavored  to  recall  his  people  to  the  pure  and  sim- 
ple worship  of  the  ancient  Toltecs."^  "It  is  conjec- 
tured," Charnay  goes  on  to  tell  us  about  the  Toltecs, 
**with  what  evidence  is  uncertain,  that  they  wor- 
shiped *an  unknown  god.'  "* 

The  young  student  must  be  careful  not  to  get  con- 
fused when  he  refers  to  some  of  these  writers. 
Charnay,  for  instance,  attributes  much  that  belonged 
to  the  Aztecs,  to  the  Toltecs.  He  acts  on  the  general 
supposition  that  everything  of  a  more  refined  charac- 
ter came  from  the  Toltecs,  even  though  it  might  be 
an  idolatrous  notion.  He  describes  the  native  idea 
of  heaven,  and  calls  attention  to  the  superiority  of 
the  idea  over  that  of  other  barbarous  or  semicivi- 
lized  nations  of  antiquity,  even  so  advanced  as  the 
Greeks,  and  calls  it  the  Toltecs'  heaven,^  while  the 

*Ibid.,p.  406. 

8  See  chapter  on  "Aztec  Civilization,"  under  "Religion  of  the 
Aztecs.'* 
*  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  83. 
» Ibid.,  p.  121. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  135 

more  logical  and  precise  Prescott  says,  "Such  was 
the  heaven  of  the  Aztecs."^  Doubtless  the  idea  rep- 
resented the  Toltecs  in  this  way,  that  in  its  pure  form 
it  originated  with  them,  but  when  it  was  found  among 
the  Aztecs  these  people  had  "engrafted  their  own 
mythology"  on  it,  as  Prescott  observes  in  explaining 
the  strange  incongruity  of  the  Aztec  religious  system, 
which  "naturally  suggests  the  idea  of  two  distinct 
sources,'*  he  says,  "and  authorizes  the  belief  that 
the  Aztecs  had  inherited  from  their  predecessors  a 
milder  faith,  on  which  was  afterwards  engrafted  their 
own  mythology.''  "^ 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  notions  or  the  prac- 
tices of  other  nations  contemporary  with  the  Aztecs — 
they  all  beHeve  in  idols,  and  some  may  have  prac- 
ticed human  sacrifice  to  some  extent,  though  none  of 
the  other  nations  ever  went  to  the  excess  that  the 
Aztecs  did — there  is  evidence  that  the  ancient  people 
before  the  period  of  the  Aztecs  and  the  Inoas  were 
superior  to  all  such  practices,  and  that  they  did  not 
believe  in,  or  worship  idols.  The  Quiche  worship 
"was  at  first  purely  spiritual,"  says  Short.®  The 
Quiche  traditions  said  that  way  back  in  the  past  they 
worshiped  "no  graven  images,"  •  In  a  previous 
chapter  we  cited  the  instance  of  a  temple  that  was 
found  near  Lima,  in  Peru,  which  exhibited  no  trace 
of  having  ever  been  used  for  idol-worship.  The 
natives  were  astonished  because  they  found  no  image 

«  Conquest  of  Mexico  (Universal  edition)  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap. 
2,  p.  65. 

7  Ibid.,  p.  57. 

8  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  214,  215. 
»  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  20. 


136  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

or  visible  symbol  of  a  god  in  this  sanctuary,  and 
writers  have  concluded  that  the  temple  was  raised  to 
Pachacamac,  the  invisible  deity,  Creator  of  the 
earth;  that  the  religion  must  have  been  a  *'pure  The- 
ism." *®  Prescott  says,  **It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
many,  if  not  most,  of  the  rude  tribes  inhabiting  the 
vast  American  continent,  however  disfigured  their 
creeds  may  have  been  in  other  respects  by  a  childish 
superstition,  had  attained  to  the  sublime  conception 
of  one  Great  Spirit,  the  Creator  of  the  Universe."  ^  ^ 
De  Salcar  says:  **The  chiefs  and  men  of  Chiapa 
were  acquainted  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Trinity.  They  call  the  Father,  Icona,  the  Son, 
Bacab,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  Estruach."  ^* 

We  have  called  attention,  in  previous  papers,  to 
the  remarkable  scriptural  analogies  in  some  of  the 
ideas  and  customs  of  the  nations  found  here  by  the 
Spaniards.  We  are  given  the  following  as  an  illus- 
tration of  how  like  the  Christian  forms  some  of  the 
native  prayers  and  addresses  were:  **Son,  your 
earthly  hardships  and  sufferings  are  over.  We  are 
but  mortal,  and  it  has  pleased  the  Lord  to  call  you  to 
himself.  We  had  the  privilege  of  being  intimately 
acquainted  with  you;  but  now  you  share  the  abode 
of  the  gods,  whither  we  shall  all  follow,  for  such  is 
the  destiny  of  man.     The  place  is  large  enough  for 

*o  See  chap,  on  the  "Ruins  of  Ancient  America,"  under 
"Ruins  of  South  America." 

1 1  Conquest  of  Peru  (universal  edition),  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  3, 
p.  88. 

12  Kings  borough's  Mexican  Antiquities,  vol.  6,  p.  166,  quoted 
by  Elder  H.  A.  Stebbins  in  his  Book  of  Mormon  Lectures,  p, 
156,  old  edition. 


AND  ARCILEOLOGY.  137 

every  one;  but  although  all  are  bound  for  the  gloomy 
bourn,  none  ever  return."*'  This  was  a  speech  that 
was  addressed  to  the  dead,  which  the  writer  thinks 
so  remarkable  that  he  believes  the  reporter  **uncon- 
sciously  added  something  of  his  own,"  and  this  is  a 
doubt  often  expressed  in  regard  to  the  early  chroni- 
clers. But  if  it  were  the  case  that  the  missionaries 
invented  some  part  of  these  accounts,  as  Donnelly 
sensibly  observes,  why  did  they  not  make  the  stories 
agree  more  closely  with  the  Bible ;  why  leave  points 
in  dealing  with  the  same  subject,  to  differ  from  the 
scriptural  account? 

The  natives  of  both  Norih  and  South  America  had 
flood-myths.  "It  is  a  remarkable  fact,"  says  Alfred 
Maury,  "that  we  find  in  America  traditions  of  the 
Deluge  coming  infinitely  nearer  to  that  of  the  Bible 
and  the  Chaldean  religion  than  any  people  of  the  Old 
Worid."**  There  were  traditions  of  the  Creation,  of 
the  temptation  of  Eve,  the  Tower  of  Babel,  the  con- 
fusion of  tongues,  and  the  scattering  of  the  people 
to  different  parts  of  the  earth.  Donnelly  says: 
"Scarcely  a  prominent  fact  in  the  opening  chapters 
of  the  book  of  Genesis  that  can  not  be  duplicated 
from  the  legends  of  American  traditions."**  The 
Mexicans  beheved  in  a  future  life,  in  reward  and 
punishment.  The  Peruvians  believed  in  the  exist- 
ence of  the  soul  hereafter.  Their  faith  in  a  resurrec- 
tion was  evinced  in  their  custom  of  embalming  their 
dead.    In  previous  chapters  we  have  referred  to  cus- 

«»  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  148. 
1*  Atlantis,  p.  98. 
ii'Ibid.,  p.  198. 


138  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

toms  that  show  striking  resemblances  with  the  Chris- 
tian ordinances  of  baptism  and  communion,  to  ideas 
and  beliefs  that  could  only  have  originated,  at  some 
time,  through  contact  with  scriptural  teachings.^® 
But  one  writer  thinks  the  height  of  fanaticism  was 
reached  when  the  early  missionaries  saw  in  the  great 
Culture-Hero  characteristics  that  were  like  those  of 
Christ.  Another  writer  of  no  less  importance,  Doctor 
Brinton,  thinks  it  not  absurd  to  quote  a  historian  who 
says  that  **nothing  was  wanting"  in  the  culture- 
heroes,  **save  the  name  of  God  and  that  of  his  Son, 
Jesus  Christ."^'  But,  as  in  other  instances,  opinion 
differs  so  much  on  this  subject  as  to  who  the  Culture - 
Hero  could  have  been,  that  we  shall  have  to  learn  the 
facts  and  judge  for  ourselves. 

Referring  to  Mexico  and  Central  America,  Charnay 
says,  "The  worship  of  Quetzalcoatl  extended  on  the 
plateaux  and  in  the  peninsula."^*  A  similar  charac- 
ter was  worshiped  in  Peru,  also,  and  not  only  these 
more  civilized  nations,  but  many  of  the  wild  Indian 
tribes  revered  a  being  to  whom  they  attributed  the 
highest  qualities  of  which  they  could  conceive. 
**Such  to  the  Algonkins  was  Michabo  or  Manibozho, 
to  the  Iroquois  loskeka,  Wasi  to  the  Cherokees, 
Tamoi  to  the  Caribs ;  so  the  Mayas  had  Itzamna,  the 
Nahuas  Quetzalcoatl,  the  Muyscas  Nemqueteba; 
such  among  the  Quichuas  was  Viracocha,  among  the 
Mandans  Numock-Muckenah,    among  the    Hidatsa 

18  For  further  analogies  with  the  Scriptures  see  Native  Races, 
vol.  5,  pp.  85-91;  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  459-465; 
Atlantis,  part  3,  chap.  6. 

17  Myths  of  the  New  Worid,  p.  337. 

18 Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  Worid,  p.  85. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  139 

Itamapisa,  and  among  the  natives  of  the  Orinoko 
Amalivaca;  and  the  catalogue  could  be  extended 
indefinitely."^*  Because  the  traditions  of  all  these 
nations  spoke  of  this  personage  whom  writers  call 
the  Culture -Hero,  we  refer  to  the  character  in  plural 
form,  sometimes,  and  say  culture- heroes,  but  it  is 
evident  that  one  and  the  same  personage  was  referred 
to  by  all  the  traditions.  In  fact,  it  is  not  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  there  existed  so  many  characters 
having  the  same  attributes  as  are  ascribed  to  the 
Culture-Hero  by  the  legends  of  each  nation.  This 
very  remarkable  similarity  in  such  a  multiplicity  of 
instances  is  logical  evidence  of  the  strongest  nature 
that  it  was  some  one  wonderful  character  that  was 
referred  to  by  all  the  traditions.  Bancroft  says: 
** Although  bearing  various  names  and  appearing  in 
different  countries,  the  American  culture-heroes  all 
present  the  same  general  characteristics..  .  .  .  They 
are  all  described  as  white,  bearded  men,  generally 
clad  in  long  robes;  appearing  suddenly  and  mysteri- 
ously upon  the  scene  of  their  labors,  they  at  once  set 
about  improving  the  people  by  instructing  them  in 
useful  and  ornamental  arts,  giving  them  laws,  exhort- 
ing them  to  practice  brotherly  love  and  other  Chris- 
tian virtues,  and  introducing  a  milder  and  better  form 
of  religion;  having  accomplished  their  mission  they 
disappear  as  mysteriously  and  unexpectedly  as  they 
came;  and,  finally,  they  are  apotheosized  and  held  in 
great  reverence  by  a  grateful  posterity.  In  such 
guise  or  on  such  mission  did  Quetzalcoatl  appear  in 
Cholula,  Votan  in  Chiapas,  Wixepeoooha  in  Oajaoa, 
*•  Myths  of  tbeTSTew  World,  p.  192. 


140  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

Zamna,  and  Cukulcan  with  his  nineteen  disciples,  in 
Yucatan,  Gucumatz  in  Guatemala,  Viracocha  in 
Peru,  Sume  and  Paye-Tome  in  Brazil,  the  mysterious 
apostle  mentioned  by  Rosales,  in  Chili,  and  Boohica 
in  Colombia.*'  The  most  celebrated  of  these  are 
Quetzalcoatl  and  Votan. 

These  culture -heroes,  as  we  shall  more  fully  see 
as  we  go  along,  partake  of  the  nature  of  divine  and 
human.  They  are  worshiped  as  a  god,  and  they  are 
reverenced  as  a  great  earthly  teacher.  They  are 
spoken  of  as  founders,  but  in  reality  all  the  culture- 
heroes  found  the  country  peopled,  we  are  told.*® 
They  were  not  founders  of  the  ancient  nation,  but 
were  founders  of  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  nation. 
The  Culture-Hero  brought  about  a  new  order  of 
things,  gave  the  people  a  pattern  to  go  by,  and 
** established  his  own  ideas  of  religion  and  govern- 
ment," as  Bancroft  says.^*  This  great  personage 
came  by  divine  command,  we  are  further  informed 
concerning  him,  and  he  came  from  the  east,  from  the 
Old  World.  2*  He  was  "venerable,  just,  holy,  who 
taught  by  precept  and  example  the  paths  of  virtue.'* 
He  also  prophesied  things  that  would  happen  in  the 
future.** 

Other  characteristics  and  description  of  the  Cul- 
ture-Hero are  given  us  by  Mr.  Short.  Quetzalcoatl 
was  the  * 'patron  god  and  high  priest  of  the  ancestors 
of  the  Toltecs.'*     His  long,  white  robe  was  ''covered 

20  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  159. 
•tibid. 
2  2  Ibid. 
2sibid.,  p.  201. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  141 

with  red  crosses."  "His  habits  were  ascetic;  he 
never  married,  was  most  chaste  and  pure  in  life,  and 
is  said  to  have  endured  penance  in  a  neighboring 
mountain,  not  for  its  effects  upon  himself,  but  as  an 
example  to  others.  Some  have  here  found  a  parallel 
for  Christ's  temptation.  He  condemned  sacrifices 
except  of  fruit  and  flowers,"  which  are  figurative  of 
peace,  and  he  was  known  as  the  "god  of  peace."^* 

"Quetzalcoatl  was  bom  of  a  virgin  in  the  land  of 
Tula  or  Tlapallan,  in  the  distant  Orient,"  says  Brin- 
ton.^*  "Many  of  the  great  gods  of  the  race,  as 
Quetzalcoatl,  Mambozho,  Viracocha,  and  loskeha, 
were  said  to  have  been  born  of  a  virgin.  Even 
among  the  low  Indians  of  Paragua  the  early  mis- 
sionaries were  startled  to  find  this  tradition  of  the 
maiden  mother  of  the  god,  so  similar  to  that  which 
they  had  come  to  tell."^®  Everything  that  was  good 
was  ascribed  to  the  teachings  of  the  Culture -Hero, 
and  he  was  believed  to  have  divine  power  and  influ- 
ence. He  was  "endowed  with  every  virtue  and 
deified,"  says  Charnay.^''  To  Zamna,  of  Yucatan 
tradition,  were  brought  "the  sick,  the  halt,  and  the 
dead,  and  he  healed  and  restored  them  all  to  life 
by  the  touch  of  his  hand,  hence  the  appellation 
Kab-Ul,  the  Miraculous  Hand,  applied  to  him."^^ 

It  has  been  a  matter  of  wonderment  to  some  how 
Cortez  with   his   handful    of  an  army  was   able  to 

2  4  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  268. 

2  5  Myths  of  the  New  World,  p.  214. 

2  6  Ibid.,  p.  172. 

2  7  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  84. 

28  Ibid.,  p.  308. 


142  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

conquer  the  powerful  Aztec  empire.  One  chief 
cause  was  closely  associated  with  our  subject.  It 
was  a  general  belief  that  the  great  and  mysterious 
Quetzalcoatl  would  some  day  return,  and  that  when 
he  did,  he  would  come  as  a  mighty  ruler  and  take 
the  reign  of  government  in  his  own  hands.  Prescott 
says :  **I  have  noticed  the  popular  traditions  respect- 
ing Quetzalcoatl,  that  deity  with  a  fair  complexion 
and  flowing  beard,  so  unlike  the  Indian  physiog- 
nomy, who,  after  fulfilling  his  mission  of  benevolence 
among  the  Aztecs,  embarked  on  the  Atlantic  Sea  for 
the  mysterious  shores  of  Tlapallan.  He  promised, 
on  his  departure,  to  return  at  some  future  day  with 
his  posterity  and  resume  the  possession  of  his 
empire.  That  day  was  looked  forward  to  with  hope 
or  with  apprehension,  according  to  the  interest  of 
the  believer,  but  with  general  confidence  through- 
out the  wide  borders  of  Anahuac.  Even  after  the 
Conquest  it  still  lingered  among  the  Indian  races, 
by  whom  it  was  fondly  cherished,  as  the  advent 
of  their  king,  Sebastian,  continued  to  be  by  the 
Portuguese,  or  that  of  the  Messiah  by  the  Jews."*^ 
Again,  Prescott  tells  us:  "The  Mexicans  looked 
confidently  to  the  return  of  the  benevolent  deity ;  and 
this  remarkable  tradition,  deeply  cherished  in  their 
hearts,  prepared  the  way,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter, 
for  the  future  success  of  the  Spaniards.'"" 

When  the  white  men,  Cortez  and  his  followers, 
arrived,  they  were  regarded  as  the  great  Quetzal - 

*»  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  1,  book  2,  chap.  6,  p.  308;  also  see 
Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  15. 
«o  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  3,  p.  61. 


AND  ARCILEOLOaY.  143 

coatl  and  his  followers,  returned  according  to  the 
ancient  promise.  The  native  mind  was  excited  with 
superstitious  fear.  The  emperor,  Montezuma,  fierce 
warrior  though  he  was,  feared  this  white  man  was  his 
rival,  Quetzalcoatl,  whom  he  believed  to  be  more 
than  human  man,  hence  thought  it  useless  to  resist 
him.  When  his  less  credulous  brother  urged  him  to 
fight  Cortez,  *'With  downcast  eye  and  dejected 
mien,  he  exclaimed,  *0f  what  avail  is  resistance, 
when  the  gods  have  declared  themselves  against 
ygP>>>8i  ip^Q  young  lords  of  Tezcuco  presented 
themselves  to  Cortez,  saying  that  their  father,  the 
cacique,  had  heard  of  him,  and  had  greatly  desired, 
with  his  last  breath,  to  see  him.  "He  believed  that 
the  white  men  were  the  beings  predicted  by  the  ora- 
cles as  one  day  to  come  from  the  east  and  take 
possession  of  the  land;  and  he  enjoined  it  on  his 
children,  should  the  strangers  return  to  the  valley,  to 
render  them  their  homage  and  allegiance."  This  the 
young  lords  expressed  their  willingness  to  do.^*  De 
Soto  heard  the  same  tradition  in  Peru.  The  father 
of  the  then  ruling  Inca,  on  his  death-bed,  had  com- 
manded his  son  to  yield  "homage  and  obedience"  to 
the  prophesied  of  white  men,  who  "would  come  from 
their  father,  the  son,  and  subject  to  their  rule  the 
nations  of  the  world,"  for,  said  the  old  Inca,  "they 
will  be  of  a  nature  superior  to  ours."'^ 

Bancroft  asks  concerning  Votan  (representing 
the  character  of  the  Culture-Hero  in  any  tradition), 
"Who  or  what  was  Votan,  man  or  mythic  creator, 

«i  Ibid.,  vol.  2,  book  3,  chap.  8,  p.  54. 
8  2  Ibid.,  vol.  3,  book  6,  chap.  1,  p.  13. 
»8  Myths  of  the  New  World,  p.  221. 


144  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

populator,  colonizer,  missionary,  conqueror,  foreign 
or  native  born?  Who  were  the  people  among  whom 
he  wrought  his  mighty  deeds,  and  what  was  their 
past  history?  .  .  .  His  teachings,  according  to  the 
traditions,  had  much  in  common  with  those  of  Christ 
in  the  Old  World."  ^4  Again,  Bancroft  tells  us: 
"Quetzalcoatl  has  been  identified  by  some  with 
St.  Thomas,  by  others  with  the  Messiah."  3*  While 
we  have  quoted  from  Doctor  Brinton  for  the  value 
of  the  evidence  he  presents,  independently  of  his 
views  about  it,  his  purpose  is  to  argue  that  this  won- 
derful character,  the  Culture -Hero,  had  no  personal 
significance,  but  was  a  creature  of  religious  fancy 
and  sentiment.  John  Foster  Firk,  in  criticising  this 
theory,  shows  that  the  Culture-Hero  was  no  myth, 
but  had  been  a  personal,  living  reality.  "The  grand 
and  distinguishing  characteristics  of  these  figures," 
he  says,  **is  the  moral  and  intellectual  eminence 
ascribed  to  them.  They  are  invested  with  the  highest 
qualities  of  humanity — attributes  neither  drawn  from 
the  external  phenomena  of  nature  nor  born  of  any 
rude  sentiment  of  wonder  or  fear.  Their  lives  and 
doctrines  are  in  strong  contrast  with  those  of  the 
ordinary  divinities  of  the  same  or  other  lands,  and 
ih3y  are  objects  not  of  propitiatory  worship,  but 
of  pious  veneration.  Can  we,  then,  assent  to  the 
conclusion  that  under  this  aspect,  also,  they  were 
*  wholly  mythical,'  ^creations  of  the  religious  fancy,' 
*ideals  summing  up  in  themselves  the  best  traits,  the 
most  approved  virtues  of  the  whole  nations?'     This 

»*  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  201. 
88  Ibid.,  p.  25. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  145 

would  seem  to  imply  that  nations  may  attain  to 
lofty  conceptions  of  moral  truth  and  excellence  by  a 
process  of  selection,  without  any  standard  or  point 
of  view  furnished  by  living  embodiment  of  the  ideal. 
But  this  would  be  as  impossible  as  to  arrive  at  con- 
ceptions of  the  highest  forms  and  ideas  independ- 
ently of  the  special  genius  and  actual  productions  of 
the  artist.  .  .  .  The  mere  fact,  therefore,  that  the 
Mexican  people  recognized  an  exalted  ideal  of  purity 
and  wisdom  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  men  had  existed 
among  them  who  displayed  these  qualities  in  an  emi- 
nent degree.  The  status  of  their  civilization,  imper- 
fect as  it  was,  can  be  accounted  for  in  the  same 
way."3« 

The  early  Catholic  missionaries  were  astonished  to 
find  the  cross  here.  It  was  a  common  feature  of 
architecture  in  Central  America  and  Mexico,  nor  was 
it  unknown  in  Peru,  although,  according  to  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  heathen  occupations  of  that  country  was 
older.  Bancroft  tells  us  that  "the  Incas  possessed  a 
cross  of  fine  marble,  or  jasper,  highly  polished," 
etc.^''  We  are  aware  that  the  cross  was  represented 
and  reverenced  by  different  nations  in  ages  prior  to 
the  Christian  era.  The  fact  is  often  presented  to 
meet  the  circumstance  of  the  cross  being  found  in 
America,  and  the  argument  is  made  that  because  of 
the  prevalence  and  antiquity  of  the  cross  it  could 
have  had  no  Christian  significance.  Writers  are 
divided  in  their  opinions  as  to  the  meaning  of  the 

»«  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  3,  pp.  62-64,  foot- 
note. 
3  7  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  48. 


14S  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

cross  in  ancient  America.  One  assumes  that  it  was  a 
symbol  of  the  four  winds.  Another  says  it  was  a 
symbol  of  rain.  In  the  East,  we  are  told  that  the 
cross  was  an  emblem  of  the  life  to  come;  it  was  the 
key  of  the  Nile;  it  was  emblematic  of  creative  power 
and  eternity;  it  symbolized  the  happy  abode  of  our 
ancestors  in  the  garden  of  Eden;  it  represented  foui 
sacred  streams  that  divided  off  the  earth,  or  the 
stream  that  ran  through  the  garden  of  Eden,  and 
parted  into  four  heads.  Through  these  various 
heathen  conceptions  the  cross  is  interpreted  to  rep- 
resent: **In  Egypt,  Assyria,  and  Britain  it  was 
emblematic  of  creative  power  and  eternity;  in  India, 
China,  and  Scandinavia,  of  heaven  and  immortality; 
in  the  two  Americas,  of  rejuvenescence  and  freedom 
from  physical  suffering ;  while  in  both  hemispheres  it 
was  the  common  symbol  of  the  resurrection,  or  the 
sign  of  the  life  to  come;  and,  finally,  in  all  heathen 
communities,  without  exception,  it  was  the  emphatic 
type,  the  sole  enduring  evidence  of  the  Divine 
Unity."  3  8 

It  must  be  evident  to  the  philosophical  reasoner 
that  a  symbol  so  wide- spread  among  mankind  could 
not  have  had  its  origin  in  accident,  or  been  a  circum- 
stance of  coincidence.  It  must  have  sprung  from  a 
vital  principle  of  highest  importance  to  the  children 
of  men.^*  While  the  confused  ideas  to  which  we  are 
referred  were  held  by  the  heathen  nations  of  the 
past,  it  is  not  reasonable  to  think  that  these  ideas 

»8Atlantis,  pp.  317-326. 

39  See  chapter  on  "Aztec  Civilization,"  under  "Religion  of 
the  Aztecs." 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  147 

represented  the  original  meaning  of  the  cross.  One 
writer  has  wisely  observed:  **It8  undoubted  antiq- 
uity, no  less  than  its  extraordinary  diffusion  evi- 
dences that  it  must  have  been  .  .  .  emblematical  of 
some  fundamental  doctrine  or  mystery."  It  is  evi- 
dent that  the  different  peoples  had  forgotten,  strayed 
away  from,  and  lost  the  knowledge  of  the  true  mean- 
ing of  the  symbol  which  they  perpetuated  as  a  matter 
of  tradition  or  habit.  As  to  the  cross  in  America, 
there  is  but  one  or  the  other  of  two  conclusions  to 
come  to :  either  the  ancients  came  in  contact  with  it 
in  the  Old  World,  and  the  principle  for  which  it  stood 
— certainly  they  would  not  have  made  the  cross  such 
a  prominent  and  general  feature  in  their  monuments 
unless  they  had,  at  one  time,  an  intelligent  under- 
standing of  the  important  meaning  of  it  —  or  the 
knowledge  of  the  cross  and  its  story  was  brought 
here  to  the  people.  Science  is  no  more  able  to  dis- 
prove one  supposition  than  it  is  the  other.  It  is  not 
able  to  say  when  or  how  the  cross  got  here.  Until 
proof  to  the  contrary  can  be  found,  the  fact  that  the 
cross  existed  here  is  an  evidence  that  does  not  con- 
tradict, but  stands  on  the  side  of  the  Book  of  Mormon 
assertions  that  Christ  and  the  atonement  were  taught 
to  the  ancient  Americans. 

A  temple  was  discovered  at  Palenque  that  was 
called  the  "Temple  of  the  Cross."*®  Charnay  says 
it  is  his  opinion  that  this  temple  was  dedicated  to 
Tlaloc  and  Quetzalcoatl.  He  tells  about  another 
temple  in  a  Lorillard  town  that  he  believes  was  dedi- 

<«  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  252. 


148  BOOK   OF  MORMON 

oated  to  Cukulcan*'  (another  name  for  the  same 
character  as  Quetzalcoatl).  He  assumes  a  joint  pro- 
prietorship in  the  cross  between  Tlaloc  and  Quetzal- 
coatl. He  says  that  the  cross  was  an  attribute  of 
Tlaloc,* 2  also  of  Cukulcan.*^  Now,  Tlaloc  was  the 
Aztec  god  of  rain,  and  as  a  sequence,  the  harvest 
was  associated  with  him.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the 
oldest  god  of  Aztec  mythology,  derived  from  the 
idolatrous  portion  of  the  Toltecs,  and  to  whom  they 
begun  to  offer  human  sacrifices  in  those  degenerate 
last  days  of  their  history.**  What  his  significance 
might  have  been  to  them  is  only  conjectural.  He 
may  have  represented  the  Creator,  from  which  idea 
the  Aztecs  came  to  look  to  him  as  having  the  power 
to  produce  rain,  upon  which  so  much  of  their  physical 
well-being  depended.  While  in  all  the  traditions 
descended  from  the  ancestors  of  the  people,  the  char- 
acter of  Quetzalcoatl  figures  as  a  distinct  personality, 
yet  we  find  to  the  clouded  Aztec  mind  he  finally  came 
to  be  regarded  as  the  god  of  air,  a  mythical  crea- 
tion.** Hence  it  will  be  seen  that  it  can  not  be  told, 
from  the  latter  idea  entertained  of  him,  who  Tlaloc 
originally  represented.  It  is  significant,  however, 
that  these  two  characters  were  the  oldest  and  most 
important  deities,  and  it  seems  that  in  the  beginning 
of  idolatry  there  were  but  these  two — "The  cult  of 
Quetzalcoatl  and  Tlaloc  was  spread  by  the  Toltecs  in 


«ilbid.,  pp.  450,  454. 

*Mbid.,  p.  449. 

«Ibid.,  p.  454. 

**  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  3,  p. 

*«  Myths  of  the  New  World,  pp.  114,  141,  214. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  149 

their  long  wanderings."*'  It  is  evident  that  these 
two  gods  represented  two  supreme  ideas,  and,  from 
the  fact  that  they  were  so  closely  associated  that  the 
same  attribute  was  sometimes  ascribed  to  them  both, 
there  must  have  been  a  close  relationship,  in  reality, 
between  them.  If  we  succeed  in  showing  that 
Quetzalcoatl,  or  Cukulcan  (also  spelled  Kukulkan), 
was  indeed  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is  it  not  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  Tlaloo  represented  God,  the 
Father? 

But  no  doubt  is  left  as  to  which  character  the  cross 
was  distinctly  the  attribute  of.  Compared  with  the 
descriptions  we  have  connecting  the  symbol  with 
Quetzalcoatl,  we  find  no  balancing  rival  claims  in  the 
case  of  any  other  character  in  all  the  traditions. 
Doctor  Brinton  says:  ** Quetzalcoatl,  as  god  of  the 
winds,  bore  as  his  sign  of  office  *a  mace  like  the  cross 
of  a  bishop;'  his  robe  was  covered  with  them  strown 
like  flowers,  and  its  adoration  was  throughout  con^ 
nected  with  his  worship^^*''^  [the  italics  are  ours]. 
The  traditions  all  represent  Quetzalcoatl  as  dressed 
in  a  long,  flowing  mantle,  adorned  with  crosses,^ ^ 
Elder  H.  A.  Stebbins  quotes  from  the  works  of  Lord 
Kingsborough  as  follows:  **The  interpreter  of  the 
Vatican  Codex  says  that  the  Mexicans  had  a  tradition 
that  Quetzalcoatl  (like  Bacab)  died  upon  the  cross, 

"*•  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  454. 

<^  Myths  of  the  New  World,  p.  114;  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New 
World,  p.  85. 

*8  See  "Was  St.  Thomas  the  Apostle  of  the  Aztecs,"  in  Rocky 
Mountain  News^  December  14, 1900,  published  in  Saints*  Herald 
for  December  26,  1900;  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  85; 
North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  268;  Atlantis,  p.  165;  Myths 
of  the  New  World,  p.  114. 


150  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

and  he  seems  to  add,  that  it  was,  according  to  their 
belief,  for  the  sins  of  mankind.  This  tradition  ac- 
quires the  most  authentic  character  from  the  cor- 
roboration which  it  receives  from  several  paintings 
in  the  Codex  Borgia,  which  actually  represents  Quet- 
zalcoatl  crucified  and  nailed  to  the  cross.  These 
paintings  are  contained  on  the  fourth,  seventy -sec- 
ond, seventy-third,  and  seventy-fifth  pages  of  the 
above-mentioned  manuscript.  On  the  seventy-sec- 
ond page,  Quetzalcoatl  is  painted  in  the  attitude  of  a 
person  crucified,  with  the  impression  of  nails  both  in 
his  hands  and  feet,  but  not  actually  upon  a  cross. 
His  body  seems  to  be  formed  out  of  a  resplendent 
sun.  On  the  seventy -fifth  page  he  is  again  repre- 
sented as  crucified,  and  one  of  his  hands  and  both 
feet  seem  to  bear  the  impression  of  nails."  Kings- 
borough  refers  to  an  early  writer  who  says:  *'In 
these  Mexican  paintings  many  analogies  may  be 
traced  between  the  events  to  which  they  evidently 
relate  and  the  history  of  the  crucifixion  of  Christ  as 
contained  in  the  New  Testament.  The  subject  of 
them  all  is  the  same,  being  the  death  of  Quetzalcoatl 
upon  the  cross  as  an  atonement  for  the  sins  of  man- 
kind."** The  same  authority  informs  us  that 
the  Indians  who  dwelt  on  the  coast  of  the  Caribbean 
Sea  had  ancient  paintings  on  long  pieces  of  leather 
which  they  told  the  Spaniards  they  received  from 
their  ancestors.  A  virgin  was  pictured  who  should 
give  birth  to  a  son  who  would  permit  himself  to  be 

<»See  Kingsborough's  Mexican  Antiquities,  vol.  6,  p.  166, 
quoted  bv  Elder  Stebbins  in  Book  of  Mormon  Lectures,  p.  156, 
old  edition. 


AND  ARCILEOLOGY.  151 

put  to  death.  "Accordingly  he  was  represented  in 
the  painting  as  crucified,  with  his  hands  and  feet 
tied  to  the  cross,  without  nails."' • 

Much  more  evidence  could  be  presented  as  show- 
ing the  striking  parallels  between  this  character,  the 
Culture -Hero,  referred  to  in  the  traditions  by  differ- 
ent names,  and  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  purposely 
chosen,  for  illustration,  only  some  of  the  features 
that  skepticism  has  tried  to  divest  of  due  significance, 
to  show  how  lacking  of  proof,  good  logic,  and  har- 
mony such  efforts  are,  and  to  show  how  wonderfully 
these  controverted  evidences  testify  in  favor  of  the 
central  truth  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  The  book 
declares  that  Christ  visited  this  continent  and  taught 
the  people  the  object  of  his  mission  to  mankind;  that 
he  performed  miracles,  healed  the  sick,  and  raised 
the  dead.  He  gave  the  people  a  new  set  of  com- 
mandments, a  higher  law,  as  he  had  done  in  the  other 
part  of  the  world.  He  chose  apostles,  established  his 
church,  and  promised  the  people  that  he  would 
return.  Clearly  these  things  are  commemorated  in 
the  traditions,  and  the  great  character  referred  to 
could  have  been  none  other  than  Christ.  What 
other  adequate  explanation  can  be  offered  to  account 
for  the  similarity,  in  all  the  traditions,  of  the  descrip- 
tions of  the  Culture-Hero;  the  presence  of  this  char- 
acter in  the  annals  of  all  the  peoples,  and  the 
profound  and  lasting  impression  he  made,  the  great 
part  he  took?  Even  the  wild  Indian  tribes,  as  we  have 
seen,  shared  in  the  idea  of  such  a  personage.     Myths 

••Ibid. 


152  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

of  a  ** Savior  and  benefactor  of  the  human  race 
extends  to  the  Alaskan  tribes,"  we  are  told, ^^  while 
it  is  commonly  known  that  the  Indians  look  forward 
to  the  coming  or  return  of  a  Savior,  and  our  news- 
papers have  told  about  the  * 'Messiah  craze"  that 
occurs  at  periods  among  some  of  the  tribes.  Doctor 
Brinton  remarks:  **It  is  but  a  few  years  since  the 
Indians  on  our  reservations,  in  wild  despair  at  the 
misery  and  death  of  those  dearest  to  them,  broke  out 
in  mad  appeals,  in  furious  ceremonies,  to  induce 
that  longed-for  Savior  and  friend  to  appear.  The 
heartless  whites  called  it  a  *ghost  dance,'  and  shot 
the  participants  in  their  tracks,  hastening  the  implac- 
able destiny  against  which  the  poor  wretches  prayed 
in  vain."  ** 

Mohammed,  Buddha,  and  Confucius  left  a  far- 
reaching  impression  upon  the  people  among  whom 
they  appeared.  But  no  man  ever  came  into  this 
world  to  whom  were  ascribed  attributes  so  superior 
and  so  opposed  to  the  carnal  promptings  of  human 
nature;  who  accomplished  results  so  unequaled  in 
their  effect  on  human  thought  and  action  as  those 
described  of  the  American  culture-heroes,  save  the 
Christ,  only.  The  cross  was  not  a  symbol  of  any  of 
nature's  elements,  but  a  witness  of  the  goodness  and 
justice  of  nature's  God,  testifying  that  the  privilege 
of  salvation  through  knowledge  of  Christ  and  his 
atoning  mercy  had  been  impartially  extended  unto  all 
men.  When  we  admit  the  possibility  that  Christ 
visited  the  ancient  Americans  and  made  known  unto 

•1  Prehistoric  America,  p.  531. 

•2  Myths  of  the  New  World,  p.  225. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  163 

them  his  mission  to  mankind,  we  striL  j.  key-note 
with  which  all  those  strange  Scriptural  analogies 
chord.  It  is  the  only  theory  with  which  all  the  evi- 
dence will  harmonize,  and  furnishes  an  explanation 
in  the  light  of  which  the  remarkable  resemblances 
that  have  proven  such  a  perplexing  mystery  to  sci- 
ence become  clear  and  simple,  each  circumstance 
agreeing  with  all  the  others,  the  whole  forming  one 
grand  bulwark  of  evidence  in  defense  of  the  claim  of 
the  Book  of  Mormon  that  the  religion  of  the  ancient 
Americans  was  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 


« 


ORIGIN    OP   THE    ANCIENT    AMERICANS. 
THE  DIFFERENT  SCIENTIFIC   THEORIES. 

The  origin  of  the  ancient  Americans  is  a  question 
that  to  science  is  shrouded  in  mystery.  Numerous 
theories  and  no  end  of  speculation  have  been 
indulged  in  as  to  who  they  were  and  whence  they 
came.  t)ne  theory  holds  that  America  was  peopled 
from  China;  that  in  remote  times  a  Chinese  expedi- 
tion stumbled  across  this  continent  while  on  a  voy- 
age. Even  the  Japanese  come  in  for  some  of  the 
honors  of  peopling  America  anciently.  The  Phoeni- 
cians were  the  most  adventurous  navigators  of  their 
day.  It  is  argued  that  they  planted  a  colony  on 
American  shores.  The  Atlantis  idea  has  its  advo- 
cates. It  supposes  that  where  the  Atlantic  Ocean  is 
now  there  was  once  land,  a  beautiful  and  fertile  land 
that  was  sunk  by  some  great  convulsion  of  nature; 
that  America  was  settled  by  these  Atlantic  people, 
who,  so  the  story  runs,  formed  the  first  civilization  of 
the  world.  And  again,  "much  has  been  written  to 
prove  that  the  northwestern  part  of  America  was  dis- 
covered and  peopled  by  Scandinavians  long  before 
the  time  of  Columbus."  Welsh,  Scotch,  and  Irish 
theories  have  their  friends. 

In  the  array  of  suppositions,  a  prominent  one  is 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  165 

that  of  Egyptian  origin ;  that  the  ancient  Americans 
"derived  their  arts  and  culture  from  Egypt."  The 
pyramidal  feature  in  architecture  has  furnished  the 
basis  for  the  idea,  mostly;  but  without  reason,  it  is 
argued,  since  the  pyramid  was  not  confined,  among 
ancient  nations,  to  Egypt  and  America,  but  is  found 
in  China,  India,  and  other  parts  of  Asia,  and  was 
not  used  for  the  same  purpose,  as  a  rule,  in  America, 
as  it  was  in  Egypt,  nor  made  in  the  same  way.  Other 
features  of  resemblance  are  pointed  out  in  the  hiero- 
glyphics, in  the  custom  of  embalming  and  other 
practices  which  the  opposition  claims  on  the  other 
hand,  are  insufficient  to  give  the  Egyptian  theory 
precedence  over  all  the  rest.^ 

The  most  prominent  theory,  however,  one  which 
has  the  largest  number  of  advocates,  is  that  which 
traces  the  Americans  to  Jewish  origin.  The  early 
Spanish  writers  were  mostly  of  that  belief.  The  mis- 
sionaries were  struck  with  the  resemblance  they 
found  in  the  customs,  and  especially  in  the  religious 
ideas  and  practices,  of  the  natives  with  the  Jewish. 
Lord  Kingsborough,  a  scholar  who  spent  his  life  and 
his  fortune  in  studying  the  question,  was  very  decided 
in  his  belief;  and  the  chief  objections  to  the  results 
of  his  researches  seem  to  be  that  he  found  too  many 
Hebrew  resemblances,  hence  he  must  have  imagined 
a  good  many  of  them,  been  too  enthusiastic,  etc., 
etc.,  etc.  Mr.  Short  says,  *'It  is  a  matter  of  surprise 
how  much  has  been  written  to  establish  the  theory 

*See  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  chap.  1;  also  North  Americans 
of  Antiquity,  pp.   131-201. 


156  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

that  the  Mexicans  were  descendants  of  the  Jews  both 
in  race  and  religion."* 

But  there  are  some  who  do  not  believe  that  the 
ancient  Americans  came  from  anywhere;  were 
related  to  anybody.  This  is  called  the  **Autoch- 
thonic  Theory."  Topsy  expressed  the  idea  in  sim- 
pler fashion,  though:  **Just  growed  up."  They 
were  not  brought  here ;  they  did  not  come  here ;  they 
just  sprung  to  life  here.  However,  this  theory  is  not 
very  widely  believed.  "There  is  no  evidence  fur- 
nished by  the  measurement  of  crania  that  an  Ameri- 
can race,  as  unique  initself  and  distinct  from  the  rest 
of  mankind,  ever  existed,"  Mr.  Short  tells  us,^  and 
gives  his  conclusions  thus:  **The  fact  that  civiliza- 
tions having  such  analogies  are  developed  in  isolated 
quarters  of  the  globe,  separated  from  each  other  by 
broad  seas  and  lofty  mountains,  and  thus  indicating 
a  uniformity  of  mental  operation  and  a  unity  of 
mental  inspiration,  added  to  the  fact  that  the  evi- 
dence is  of  a  preponderating  character  that  the 
American  continent  received  its  population  from  the 
Old  World,  leads  us  to  the  truth  that  God  *hath  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men.'  "* 

EASTERN    ORIGIN. 

All  the  more  enlightened  nations  found  here  by 
the  Spaniards,  besides  many  of  the  wild  Indian 
tribes,  had  traditions  about  a  foreign  origin.  Father 
Duran  **was  convinced  that  the  natives  had  a  foreign 

2  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  459,  560:  also  see  pp. 
134-143. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  165. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  521, 


AND  ARCILEOLOGY.  167 

origin,  and  that  they  performed  a  long  journey  of 
many  years  duration  in  their  migration  to  the  New 
World.  He  arrived  at  these  conclusions  on  account 
of  several  considerations,  some  of  which  are  as  fol- 
lows :  The  natives  had  no  definite  knowledge  of  their 
origin,  some  claiming  to  have  proceeded  from  foun- 
tains and  springs  of  water,  others  that  they  were 
created  by  the  gods,  while  all  admit  that  they  had 
come  from  other  lands.  Furthermore,  they  pre- 
served in  their  traditions  and  pictures  the  memory 
of  a  journey  in  which  they  had  suffered  hunger, 
thirst,  nakedness,  and  all  manner  of  afflictions.'"^ 
So  prevalent  were  these  traditions  about  a  foreign 
origin  and  long  wanderings,  that  the  father  and  other 
early  missionaries  and  writers  were  led  to  think 
the  Americans  must  have  been  the  lost  tribes  of 
Israel. 

The  Quiches,  in  the  Popul  Vuh,  give  an  account  of 
the  long,  weary  journeying.  They  started  from 
Tulan.  **The  tradition  of  their  origin  states  that  they 
came  from  the  far  East,  across  immense  tracts  of 
land  and  water.*'"  They  endured  much  hardship, 
and  traveled  a  long  time.  They  tell  about  cold,  rain, 
scarcity  of  food,  dense  forests,  high  mountains,  a 
long  sea  passage.  At  last  their  tribulations  were  at 
an  end.  They  came  to  a  country  where  everything 
was  "beauteous  and  gladdening,"  and  "the  four  pro- 
genitors of  the  race,  and  all  the  people  rejoiced."  "^ 


"Ibid.,  p.  135. 
•Ibid.,  p.  211. 
^Ibid.,  pp.  211-216;  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  pp.  21,  181,  182. 


158  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

The  Nahua  or  Mexican  tradition  is  similar.     "Seven 

families  speaking  the  same  language  kept  together  in 

their  wanderings  for  many  years ;  and  after  crossing 

broad  land  and  seas,  enduring  many  great  hardships, 

they  reached   the   country  of   Huehue  Tlapallan  or 

*01d*  Tlapallan;  which  they  found  to  be  fertile  and 

desirable  to  dwell  in.*'  ^ 

The  Tzendal  tradition  said  that  Votan  came  from  the 

East,   from  across  the  sea.     "He  conducted   seven 

families  from  Valum  to  this  continent."  "     The  Cak- 

chiquel  MS.  says:     "Four  persons  came  from  Tulan, 

from  the  direction  of  the  rising  sun — that  is  one  Tulan . 

There  is  another  Tulan   in   Xibalbay,  and  another 

where  the  sun  sets,  and  it  is  there  that  we  came;  and 

in  the  direction  of  the  setting  sun  there  is  another, 

where  is  the  god,  so  that  there  are  four  Tulans;  and 

it  is  where  the  sun  sets  that  we  came  to  Tulan,  from 

the  other  side  of  the  sea,  where  this  Tulan  is;    and 

it  is  there  that  we  were  conceived  and  begotten  by 

our  mothers  and  fathers."*®     Bancroft  says  of  the 

Mayas  of  Yucatan,  "Their  idea  of  the  most  primitive 

period  of  their  history,  like  the  idea  entertained  by 

other  nations  whose  annals  have  been  presented,  was 

connected  with  the  arrival  of  a  small  band  from  across 

the  sea."  *  *     The  Aztecs  said  they  came  from  Aztlan, 

and  spoke  of  their  ancestors  in  connection  with  the 

regions  where  the  "sun  rises."  ** 

8  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.   209;  also  see  North  Americans  of 
Antiquity,  pp.  23S-245. 
»  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  204, 208. 

10  Atlantis,  p.  166. 

11  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  616;  also  see  p.  22. 

1*  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  257;  Conquest  of  Mexico, 
Universal  edition,  vol.  2,  book  3,  chap.  9,  p.  86. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  159 

"An  Okanagan  myth  relates  that  they  were 
descended  from  a  white  couple  who  had  been  sent 
adrift  from  an  island  in  the  Eastern  ocean."  *'The 
Chepewyans  have  a  tradition  that  they  came  from  a 
distant  land,  where  a  bad  people  lived."  "The 
Algonquins  preserve  a  tradition  of  a  foreign  origin 
and  a  sea  voyage."  "The  Olmec  traditions  relate 
that  they  came  by  sea  from  the  East."  ^  ^  "Same,  the 
great  name  of  BraziHan  legend,  came  across  the 
ocean  from  the  rising  sun.**^^ 

Thus,  we  see,  the  traditions  clearly  indicate,  1st,  a 
foreign  origin;  2d,  long  wanderings  before  the  des- 
tined home  was  reached;  3d,  that  the  first  starting 
point  was  across  the  sea;  4th,  that  Tulan,  Huehue 
Tlapalan,  and  Atzlan,  were  simply  different  names 
for  that  starting  point,  which  was  in  the  East,  where 
the  "sun  rises, "^*  as  the  natives  expressed  the  idea. 
The  Book  of  Mormon  says  that  the  three  colonies 
that  came  to  this  continent,  the  Jaredites,  the 
Nephites,  and  the  Zarahemlaites,  came  from  the 
Eastern  Hemisphere,  traveling  through  parts  of  Asia 
till  the  ocean  was  reached,  when  they  crossed  in 
ships.  They  came  from  "across  the  sea;"  they  came 
from  that  part  of  the  world  where  the  "sun  rises." 

SHIPS. 

It  would  seem  hardly  necessary  to  make  a  point 
of  the  means  by  which  the  ancient  colonists  reached 
this  continent,  when  we  are  given  to  understand  that 

i»  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  22. 

14  Atlantis,  p.  168. 

1^' See  Ibid.,  pp.  165-168. 


160  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

they  came  by  water.  The  voyage  could  only  have 
been  accomplished  by  ships  of  some  sort.  However, 
specific  mention  on  this  point  is  not  wanting.  Saha- 
gun,  one  of  the  early  Spanish  writers,  said,  **Count- 
less  years  ago  the  first  settlers  arrived  in  New  Spain, 
coming  in  ships  by  the  sea,"  etc.^*  Professor  Bald- 
win speaks  of  an  old  tradition  of  both  Mexico  and 
Peru  that  said  that  the  people  came  in  ships. ^"^  The 
circumstance  is  also  mentioned  in  the  Quiche  and 
Nahua  traditions,  but  as  it  is  included  in  the  state- 
ments that  the  ancestors  of  the  ancient  people  came 
from  across  the  sea,  more  space  will  not  be  taken 
to  present  further  evidence  that  could  be  given. 

BOTH    COASTS   WERE  VISITED. 

The  **Chilian8,"  Mr.  Bancroft  tells  us,  "assert  that 
their  ancestors  came  from  the  west."^®  Professor 
Baldwin  states  it  more  exactly:  "According  to  the 
old  traditions  of  both  Mexico  and  Peru,  the  Pacific 
Coast  in  both  countries  was  anciently  visited  by  a 
foreign  people  who  came  in  ships." ^*  There  were 
traditions  among  the  Mayas  that  the  country  was 
settled  anciently  by  two  peoples,  "one  from  the  east, 
the  other  from  the  west."^°  These  traditions  do  not 
conflict  with  the  statements  made  by  other  traditions 
that  the  ancestors  of  the  ancient  Americans  came 
from  the  east,  as  a  moment's  reflection  will  show. 
The  Book  of  Mormon  says  that   the  Jaredites,  the 

i«  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  189. 
1^  Ancient  America,  p.  170. 
18  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  22. 
I »  Ancient  America,  p.  170. 
'o  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  223. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  161 

Nephites,  and  the  Zarahemlaites  came  from  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  world,  but  taking  different  routes,  they 
landed  on  opposite  shores  of  the  American  Continent, 
the  Jaredites  on  the  east,  or  Atlantic  Coast,  the 
Nephites  on  the  west,  or  Pacific  Coast,  while  it  is  not 
so  clearly  indicated  on  which  coast  the  Zarahemlaites 
landed.  Again,  standing  on  the  American  Continent, 
the  directions  are  east  and  west  of  it;  so  we  speak  of 
them,  and  so  the  ancients  spoke  of  them,  while  at  the 
same  time  the  termini  of  both  directions  meet  in  the 
Eastern  Hemispere.  As  to  the  traditions  in  Mexico, 
Central  America,  and  Peru,  all  saying  that  the  Pacific 
Coast  was  visited:  it  will  be  remembered  that  the 
ancestors  of  the  people  who  lived  in  the  two  former 
sections  had  once  lived  in  Peru.  Wherever  their 
descendants  went  they  took  their  history  with  them ; 
hence  in  the  traditions  of  Mexico  and  Central  America 
there  are  confused  memories  of  what  happened  in 
Peru,  or  South  America. 

THE   COURSE  OF  THE  NATION. 

The  traditional  account  of  early  migrations  is  the 
cause  of  much  difference  of  opinion  among  antiqua- 
rians on  the  point  of  the  distance  that  was  required 
to  accommodate  the  itinerary. 

It  is  quite  a  prevalent  idea  that  the  ancient  empire 
referred  to  in  the  traditions  was  located  in  Central 
America;  in  other  words,  that  the  traditions  refer  to 
the  nation  which  had  its  center  or  oldest  settlements 
in  Central  America.  When  antiquarians  attempt  to 
harmonize  the  traditional  accounts  with  this  idea, 
they  are   led  to  pretty  straits.     If  they  locate  the 


162  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

second  Tulan,  the  place  at  which  the  ancient  immi- 
grants landed  on  this  continent,  in  Central  America, 
and  tracing  the  course  of  travel  along  north,  and  east, 
as  described  in  the  traditions,  by  the  time  sufficient 
distance  has  been  allowed  to  carry  out  the  itinerary, 
it  will  not  keep  within  the  geography  of  Central 
America  and  Mexico,  but  leads  far  out  upon  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico. 

That  will  not  do.  To  get  out  of  this  difficulty,  one 
antiquarian  bethinks  himself  that  civilization  is  a 
course  of  evolution;  it  climbs  upward  step  by  step. 
The  height  of  culture  attained  in  Central  America 
could  only  have  been  reached  after  the  early  strug- 
gles of  the  nation  were  passed ;  that  they  made  their 
beginning  in  another  part  of  the  country,  and  went 
to  Central  America  to  display  the  climax  of  their 
attainments.  It  would  seem,  however,  that  such 
reasoners  forget  to  apply  their  own  argument.  It  is 
for  the  very  reason  that  it  requires  time  to  build  such 
cities  and  develop  such  culture  as  the  ruins  and  relics 
of  Central  America  give  evidence  of  that  we  find  that 
in  those  parts  of  any  country  where  the  people  have 
attained  to  the  highest  culture,  there  their  settlements 
are  the  oldest.  But  this  view  of  the  subject  is  incon- 
venient. It  does  not  suit  the  theory  that  certain 
antiquarians  have  fixed  upon  for  escape  out  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  They  take  a  survey  of  the  upper 
regions  of  North  America,  and  they  find  in  the  West, 
and  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  ruins  that  do  not  indi- 
cate so  much  culture  as  do  the  ruins  of  Central 
America.  Ah,  here,  somewhere,  then,  they  settle 
upon  for  the  beginning  point  of  the  storied  wander- 


AND   ARCHEOLOGY.  163 

ings.  feome  place  it  somewhere  on  the  Californian 
coast ;  others  say  it  is  more  reasonable  to  place  it  up 
somewhere  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  ^^  Now  they 
run  the  itinerary  along  till  they  reach  Central 
America.  This  course  certainly  gives  them  distance 
enough. 

But  other  antiquarians  come  along  and  point  out 
that,  however  convenient  such  a  theory  might  be  so 
far  as  the  point  of  distance  is  concerned,  there  are 
important  features  which  it  overlooks;  facts  with 
which  it  will  not  harmonize  at  all.  Mr.  Bancroft 
calls  attention  to  a  few  things.  He  says,  "Material 
relics  of  any  great  empire  are  wanting  in  that 
region,"  referring  to  the  Northwest,  or  on  the  Gulf  of 
California,*^  and  in  answer  to  the  argument  that 
the  course  of  progress  was  southward,  reaching  its 
highest  development  in  Central  America,  he  shows 
that  there  is  "utter  want  of  resemblance"  between 
the  ruins  of  that  region  and  those  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America.  As  to  the  starting-point  being 
somewhere  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  he  calls  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  monuments  of  Central 
America  indicate  too  great  antiquity  to  have  been 
built  by  the  people  after  their  migration  from  the 
North.  After  summing  up  his  reasons,  Mr.  Bancroft 
says:  "The  general  theory  alluded  to  of  a  great 
migration  from  north  to  south  .  .  .  will  find  few 
defenders  in  view  of  the  results  of  modern  re- 
search,"*' and  as  agreeing  with  him  in  the  conclu- 

2»  See  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  24&-253. 
**  Native  Races,  p.  215. 
"Ibid.,pp.  167,  168. 


164  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

sion  that  the  Nahua  culture  was  of  Southern  origin, 
not  of  Northern,  he  mentions  Bradford,  Squier, 
Tylor,  Viollet-le-Duc,  Bartlett,  MuUer,  and  on  gen- 
eral principles,  Brasseur  de  Bourboug,  also.®* 

But  while  Mr.  Bancroft  exposes  the  fallacy  of  the 
theory  of  a  migration  from  north  to  south,  he  is,  in 
a  share,  to  blame  for  it  by  connecting  the  traditions 
with  the  civilization  which  had  its  center  in  Central 
America.  He  seeks  to  find  a  theory  that  will  fit  the 
ruins,  and  overlooks  the  traditions.  A  sea  voyage 
can  not  be  reconciled,  at  all,  with  the  idea  of  Mr. 
Bancroft  that  the  first  Tulan  was  in  Central  America. 
He  recognizes  this  himself,  and  is  driven  to  the 
resort  of  suggesting  that  perhaps  the  sea  voyage  was 
an  interpolation.  The  other  theories  we  have 
referred  to  endeavor  to  harmonize  the  traditions,  but 
as  Mr.  Bancroft  shows,  are  unsound  in  reasoning, 
and  at  variance  with  facts  the  monuments  present. 
By  this  time  the  young  student  no  doubt  begins  to 
see  where  the  secret  of  all  the  trouble  the  scientific 
gentlemen  have  over  this  question  lies,  and  perceives, 
as  a  matter  of  consequence,  that  the  traditions  could 
not  have  reference  to  the  first  period  of  civilization, 
the  civilization  which  began  in  Central  America. 
Since  the  theories  referred  to  will  not  stand  the  test 
of  logic,  traditions,  and  monuments,  and  they  are 
popular  theories  with  scientists  on  this  question,  too, 
suppose  we  take  the  Book  of  Mormon  and  subject 
it  to  the  same  test,  to  see  how  it  will  compare  with 
all  the  evidence. 

«<Ibid.,  p.  236. 


AND   ARCHEOLOGY.  165 

Let  us,  first,  briefly  summarize  the  account  the 
Book  of  Mormon  gives  of  the  origin  of  the  ancient 
Americans.  In  the  first  place  we  are  told  that  there 
was  a  people,  the  Jaredites,  who  were  dead  and  gone 
before  the  second  people,  the  Nephites  and  the  Zara- 
hemlaites,  came,  and  that  it  was  the  first  people  who 
began  their  civilization  in  Central  America  and  car- 
ried it  to  its  highest  point  there.  The  second  people 
(the  Nephites  and  the  Zarahemlaites  came  at  about 
the  same  time,  but  the  Nephites  took  precedence  in 
civilization  and  power,  and  to  them  we  refer)  came 
from  the  Eastern  Continent,  as  did  the  first  people, 
voyaged  across  the  sea,  and  landed  down  on  the  west 
coast  of  South  America,  somewhere  on  the  coast 
of  Chili,  it  is  believed.  Here  they  settled  for  a  time, 
then  took  up  their  wanderings  again  and  traveled 
till  they  reached  a  place  where  they  were  satisfied 
to  make  their  homes.  They  now  founded  their  first 
city,  Nephi.  Hundreds  of  years  they  lived  in  that 
region,  then — because  of  wickedness,  and  the  perse- 
cution of  their  enemies  —  under  Mosiah,  the  more 
righteous  take  up  their  wanderings  again  and  jour- 
ney till  they  reach  the  Zarahemlaites,  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  country,  by  whom  they  are  gladly 
received.  A  great  empire  is  built  up  in  Zarahemla 
and  flourishes  for  centuries,  then  the  sad  story  is 
repeated.  Their  enemies  keep  driving  them  further 
and  further  north,  and  they  spread  upward  into  Cen- 
tral America  and  Mexico,  perhaps  further,  their  ene- 
mies following  them  wherever  they  go.  In  the  fourth 
century  the  nation  was  entirely  destroyed,  and  the 
people  who  remained,  in  time  lost  their  identity  and 


166  BOOK  OP  MORMON 

became  mixed  with  the  conquering  people.  The  his- 
tory of  the  Nephites,  from  the  time  they  left  Jeru- 
salem till  the  downfall  of  the  nation,  covered  a  space 
of  about  a  thousand  years.  Now  we  will  compare 
this  narrative  with  archaeological  sources. 

Donnelly  interprets  the  Maya  tradition  thus :  **The 
birthplace  of  the  race  was  in  the  East,  across  the  sea, 
at  a  place  called  Tulan;  and  when  they  emigrated 
they  called  their  first  stopping-place  on  the  American 
Continent  Tulan,  also.''^^  The  Mexican  tradition  is 
similar.  They  start  out  from  Hue  hue  Tlapalan  "in 
search  of  a  suitable  country  in  which  to  live."  After 
**traversing  broad  lands  and  seas,  they  arrived  in  a 
country  called  Hue  hue  Tlapalan." ^^  We  will 
remember  that  down  in  Peru  —  ancient  Peru  —  the 
natives  have  a  tradition  that  people  had  come  to 
their  west  coast  in  ships.  We  have  learned  that  there 
had  been  a  civilization  older  than  that  of  the  Incas, 
and  that  *'the  source  of  this  civilization  is  traced  to 
the  valley  of  Cuzco,  the  central  region  of  Peru;"^'^ 
that  here  the  oldest  ruins  in  South  America  were 
found. ^^  Let  us,  then,  place  the  first  Tulan,  or  Hue 
hue  Tlapalan,  in  the  Eastern  Hemisphere,  and  the 
second  Tulan,  or  Hue  hue  Tlapalan,  the  starting- 
point  of  the  land  journey,  down  on  the  coast  of  Chili, 
a  ways.  Now  let  us  trace  the  itinerary  along,  going 
in  the  direction  the  traditions  indicate,  north,  and 


«■  Atlantis,  p.  166. 

*«  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  244. 
•^Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  1,  p.  8.     (Universal 
Edition.) 
*«Ibid.,  p.  11;  Ancient  America,  p.  236. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  167 

east,  until  we  reach  Central  America — that  is  where 
this  course  would  take  us,  anyhow — and  have  we  not 
distance  enough?  If  from  some  point  near  the  Gulf 
of  California,  or  somewhere  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  to  Central  America,  affords  dis- 
tance sufficient  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
itinerary,  we  have  certainly  been  as  well  accommo- 
dated by  placing  our  land  starting-point  in  Peru. 

Again,  if  there  had  been  no  other  people  in 
America  anciently  than  those  who  began  their  civili- 
zation in  Central  America,  how  came  the  natives 
down  in  Peru  to  have  traditions  like  the  natives  in 
Central  America?  How  came  they  to  have  that  one 
about  their  coast  being  visited  by  people  who  came 
in  ships?  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  perhaps  sailing 
vessels  of  some  foreign  people  drifted  out  of  their 
course  and  ran  upon  the  Peruvian  coast.  Such  an 
accidental  happening  would  not  be  preserved  in  tra- 
ditions for  centuries,  neither  would  the  memory  of  it 
be  found  to  be  of  such  wide-spread  prevalence  as  this 
tradition  was.  The  natives  in  both  North  and  South 
America,  as  we  have  seen,  had  the  idea,  and  the 
early  Europeans  heard  it  frequently.  For  an  idea 
to  have  been  so  widely  held,  so  tenaciously  clung 
to,  it  must  have  had  its  origin  in  an  event  of  great 
consequence  in  the  history  of  the  people.  No  acci- 
dental happening  would  have  survived  in  traditional 
memory  through  centuries  and  changing  circum- 
stances. It  was  a  vital  event,  and  the  fact  thafc  it 
was  commemorated  in  the  traditions  of  the  natives  of 
both  North  and  South  America  is  in  itself  a  strong 
suggestion  of  relationship  between  the  people  of  the 


168  BOOK   OF    MORMON 

two  sections,  besides  other  similarities  we  have  noted, 
notwithstanding  the  dissimilarities.  We  are  not  told, 
to  our  knowledge,  that  the  people  of  Central  America 
extended  their  civilization  into  South  America.  We 
know  that  wild  theories  are  not  a  new  thing,  but  we 
hardly  believe  that  any  reputable  antiquarian  would 
advocate  such  an  idea,  because  the  essential  differ- 
ence between  the  ruins  of  North  and  South  America 
forbid  such  a  conclusion.  If  the  Central  Americans 
had  extended  their  civilization  into  South  America, 
the  pyramid,  which  was  the  characteristic  feature  of 
their  architecture,  would  be  found  in  the  latter  divi- 
sion also,  but  it  is  not.  Professor  Baldwin  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  starting-point  of  the  civilization 
from  which  the  Mayas  and  the  Toltecs  were  descended 
was  in  South  America.  He  says:  **The  civilized 
life  of  the  ancient  Americans  may  have  had  its 
beginning  somewhere  in  South  America,  for  they 
seem  more  closely  related  to  the  ancient  South 
Americans  than  to  the  wild  Indians  north  of  the 
Mexican  border.  I  find  myself  more  and  more 
inclined  to  the  opinion  that  the  aboriginal  South 
Americans  are  the  oldest  people  on  this  continent."** 
The  greatest  difficulty  that  Mr.  Baldwin  seems  to 
have  encountered  in  his  speculations  is  the  difference 
between  the  architecture  of  North  and  of  South 
America.  Perhaps  this  seeming  difficulty  has  been 
the  greatest  obstacle  in  the  way  of  other  archaeolo- 
gists to  hinder  them  from  taking  the  position  that 
the  early  history  of  the  people  who  were  found  in 

2»  Ancient  America,  p.  125. 


AND   ARCHEOLOGY.  169 

Central  America  and  Mexico  had  its  beginning  in 
South  America.  But  the  Book  of  Mormon  clears 
away  any  difficulty  resulting  from  the  situation,  and 
in  turn  receives  confirming  testimony  in  the  very  fact 
that  the  situation  is  as  it  is.  The  book  explains  that 
the  original  Central  Americans  were  the  earliest  peo- 
ple, and  that  they  did  not  extend  their  civilization 
into  South  America,  hence  the  pyramid  is  not  found* 
in  the  latter  country.  It  says  that  the  people  who 
began  their  civilization  in  Peru  were  a  distinct  people 
who  came  to  the  country  about  five  hundred  years 
after  the  North  Americans  had  disappeared.  When 
in  the  course  of  time  they  went  up  into  Central 
America,  the  **narrow  neck  of  land,"  as  it  is 
described,  they  were  astonished  to  find  ruins  and 
human  bones  there,  and  from  these  evidences  that 
the  country  had  been  formerly  inhabited,  but  was 
now  desolate  indeed,  they  called  the  land  "Desola- 
tion.'*3®  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Mexican 
tradition  speaks  about  journeying  up  to  a  land  "for- 
merly occupied  by  Quinames,  but  now  depopu- 
lated,"^*  and,  as  we  have  seen  in  previous  chapters 
or  papers,  there  is  an  abundance  of  evidence  to  show 
that  the  ruins  of  this  region  had  been  inhabited  by 
successive  peoples  who  **repaired  and  restored'*  the 
ruins,  says  Charnay  and  others,  *'on  the  same  plan 
as  that  on  which  they  had  been  erected. "^ 2  j^  would 
not  have  been  very  easy  for  the  new  people  to  take 

«oMosiah  5:  45;  9:  148;  Alma  13:  64,  67,  large  edition;  Mosiah 
5:9;  9:26;  Alma  13:  11,  small  edition. 

3 1  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  245. 

» 2 Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,  p.  134;  also  see  Ancient 
America,  p.  152. 


170  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

down  those  pyramids.  It  is  considered  too  trouble- 
some a  task  to-day,  and,  besides,  great  and  populous 
as  we  have  become,  it  has  not  been  found  necessary 
to  do  so  yet.  It  is  only  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  ancient  second  comers  adapted  themselves  to  the 
conditions  they  found. 

Mr.  Woodhead  refers  to  a  Maya  tradition  given 
by  Professor  Le  Plongeon  in  which  the  ancient 
empire  is  traced  to  South  America.  The  nation  "was 
symbolized  by  a  tree,"  which  was  planted  in  the 
northern  part  of  South  America.  Again,  the  nation 
was  symbolized  by  a  serpent.  **The  serpent's  head 
reaches  into  the  Yucatan  peninsula;  its  long  body 
is  stretched  out  at  full  length  through  Central 
America  and  eastward  down  and  through  the 
Panama  Isthmus,  with  its  tail  resting  in  the  northern 
part  of  South  America."^ ^  In  the  traditions  of  the 
early  wanderings  it  will  be  noticed  that  Tulan  evi- 
dently marks  an  important  place  in  the  ancient  his- 
tory each  time  it  is  mentioned.-  The  first  Tulan  was 
the  birthplace  of  the  people.  The  second  Tulan  was 
where  they  landed.  The  name  seems  to  convey  the 
meaning  of  home,  or  of  important  landmarks  in  their 
history;  places  where  they  lived  and  flourished  for 
considerable  periods  of  time.  Besides  the  two  Tulans 
mentioned,  there  were  two  other  Tulans.  We  suggest 
the  historical  outline  of  the  Nephites  for  comparison. 
Their  birthplace  was  in  Asia.  They  came  across  the 
ocean  and  landed  down  on  the  coast  of  South 
America.     They  established  their  first  great  city,  and 

ssjSfamte'  Herald,  issue  May  2,  1900,  article,  "Myths  of  the 
New  World.— No.  3." 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  171 

spread  out  in  the  regions  of  Lake  Titicaoa.  Here 
they  lived  for  centuries,  then  migrated  to  the 
northern  part  of  South  America,  which  was  called 
the  land  of  Zarahemla.  There  they  established  their 
great  empire  whose  power  at  one  time  extended 
through  all  the  land,  and  colonies  went  up  into  North 
America.  It  was  to  this  region,  where  the  grandest 
era  of  Nephite  history  was  developed,  that  the  Maya 
tree  and  serpent  symbols  point.  The  Mexican  tradi- 
tion, also,  is  marked  by  four  important  points,  called 
Huehue  Tlapalan,  which  represent,  in  corresponding 
order,  the  same  circumstances  as  the  Maya  traditions 
do.  The  skeptic  might  like  to  scorn  these  traditions 
as  evidence,  but  it  will  be  remembered  that  "the 
histories  of  the  Egyptians,  the  Trojans,  the  Greeks, 
and  even  ancient  Rome  rest  on  no  surer  footing,*' 
and  that  there  are  always  **some  main  and  funda- 
mental facts"  out  of  which  traditions  grow.  ^* 

It  has  been  asserted  by  some  that  the  Aztecs  and 
the  Mayas  knew  nothing  of  the  Peruvians,  and  on 
the  other  hand,  that  the  Incas  knew  nothing  of  their 
neighbors  in  the  Northern  country.  We  have  spoken 
of  the  characteristic  difference  between  the  archi- 
tecture of  North  and  South  America,  respectively, 
and  yet,  if  the  remote  ancestors  of  the  Mexicans 
and  the  Central  Americans  originally  came  from 
South  America,  we  should  expect  that  archaeological 
investigation  would  discover  some  resemblances 
between  the  two  sections,  and  some  signs  of  early 
relationship ;  though  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  at 

»*  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  204;  Native  Races,  pp. 
136,  137,  141;  Ancient  America,  p.  262. 


172  BOOK  OP  MORMON 

the  beginning  of  the  Columbian  era  over  a  thousand 
years  had  passed  since  the  time  when  the  Nephite 
empire  extended  its  civilization  into  Central  America 
and  Mexico,  and  hence  that  we  could  not  expect  to 
trace  the  relationship  clearly.  But  various  writers 
inform  us  of  similarities  that  did  exist  in  different 
respects  between  the  two  divisions  of  country.  Pro- 
fessor Wilson  says:  ^'Whilst  there  seems  little  room 
for  doubt  that  those  two  nations  were  ignorant  of 
each  other  at  the  period  of  the  discovery  of  America, 
there  are  many  indications  in  some  of  their  arts  of 
an  earlier  intercourse  between  the  northern  and 
southern  continent."^'  It  will  be  remembered  that 
Prescott  observes,  when  speaking  about  the  Peruvian 
post  system,  that  *'It  is  remarkable  that  this  impor- 
tant institution  should  have  been  known  to  both  the 
Mexicans  and  the  Peruvians  without  any  correspond- 
ence with  one  another."^'  On  the  island  of  Coati, 
in  Peru,  we  learn  from  Mr.  Baldwin's  work,  there 
are  ruins  that,  except  for  the  absence  of  the  pyra- 
mid, *'has  more  resemblance  to  some  of  the  great 
constructions  in  Central  America  than  to  anything 
peculiar  to  the  later  period  of  Peruvian  architec- 
ture."*' Professor  Foster,  as  quoted  by  Elder  Steb- 
bins,  * 'claimed  that  the  evidences  were  that  the 
ancient  Peruvians  carried  on  commerce  with  distant 
parts  of  the  American  continent."*®  Delafield  says: 
"No  annals  have  been  found  proving  direct  connec- 

••  Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  5,  foot-note,  p.  166. 

•«Ibid.,  book  1,  chap.  2,  p.  71. 

«^  Ancient  America,  p.  231. 

»8  Book  of  Mormon  Lectures,  p.  133,  first  edition. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  173 

tion  between  Mexico  and  Peru;  yet  their  languages, 
and  manners  and  customs,  as  well  as  their  anatomical 
developments  and  equal  advance  in  the  progress  of 
civilization  indicate  a  common  origin."^*  Baldwin 
says:  "Some  have  assumed  that  the  Peruvians  had 
no  communication  with  the  Mexicans  and  Central 
Americans,  and  that  the  two  peoples  were  unknown 
to  each  other.  This,  however,  seems  to  be  contra- 
dicted by  the  fact  that  an  accurate  knowledge  of 
Peru  was  found  among  the  people  inhabiting  the 
Isthmus  and  region  north  of  it.  The  Spaniards  heard 
of  Peru  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  of  South  America,  but 
on  the  Isthmus,  Balboa  gained  clear  information  in 
regard  to  that  country  from  natives  who  had  evi- 
dently seen  it.^'*» 

THE  FOUNDERS  OP  THE  NATION. 

"We  have  yet  some  other  evidence  to  examine,  but 
before  we  can  make  an  intelligent  comparison  with 
the  Book  of  Mormon  account  on  the  phase  of  the 
subject  we  now  come  to,  we  must  know  what  that 
account  is.  It  says  that  there  were  eight  men  in  the 
Nephite  party,  Lehi  and  his  four  sons,  the  two  sons 
of  Ishmael  (father  Ishmael  died  in  Asia),  and  Zoram. 
This  was  the  number  of  men  that  left  Jerusalem  for 
the  "promised  land."  Of  these  eight  men,  seven 
were  young  men  and  married  on  the  way,  hence  there 
were  seven  young  families,  but  eight  families  in  all, 
since  Lehi  and  Sariah,  though  getting  old,  had 
children  born  to  them  in  the  course  of  the  journey. 

»•  Antiquities  of  America,  p.  16. 
*"  Ancient  America,  p.  272. 


174  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

Lehi  died  soon  after  arriving  in  America.  Of  the 
eight  men,  there  were  four  that  were  brothers  and 
were  principally  influential;  they  were  Nephi  and 
Sam,  Laman  and  Lemuel.  Nephi,  however,  took 
precedence  over  all  his  brethren;  he  was  the  leader, 
and  the  founder  of  the  civilization  of  the  nation 
which  was  called  after  him,  the  Nephites.  He  was  a 
righteous  man  and  a  prophet.  We  have  shown  that 
there  were  women  and  children  in  the  party,  but  the 
eight  men  designated  were  the  heads,  or  chiefs,  from 
whom  the  population  sprang. 

Now,  turning  to  the  traditions,  what  do  we  find? 
We  learn  that  the  natives  traced  their  descent  back 
to  seven  families,  sometimes  to  eight,  and  to  four 
brothers.  The  Tzendal  (a  Maya)  tradition,  says  that 
Votan  came  from  the  East,  across  the  sea.  "He  con- 
ducted seven  families  from  Valum  Votan  to  this  con- 
tinent."*^ The  Mexican  tradition  says:  "Seven 
families"  crossed  "broad  lands  and  seas,  enduring 
many  hardships,"  till  they  reached  the  country  of 
Huehue  Tlapalan,  "fertile  and  desirable  to  dwell 
in."*^  "The  Nahuas  of  Mexico  much  more  fre- 
quently spoke  of  themselves  as  descendants  of  four 
or  eight  original  families."*^  "The  Ottoes,  Pawnees, 
*and  other  Indians'  had  a  tradition  that  from  eight 
ancestors  all  nations  (natives)  and  races  were 
descended."** 


<i  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  204,  208. 
*  2  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  209;  North  Americans  of  Antiquity, 
p.  238. 
<3  Myths  of  the  New  World,  p.  101,  note  1. 
**Ibid. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  175 

It  is  to  the  four  brothers,  however,  that  we  find  the 
most  frequent  allusions.  Says  Mr.  Brinton,  "Hardly 
a  nation  on  the  continent  but  seems  to  have  some 
vague  tradition  of  an  origin  from  four  brothers,  to 
have  at  some  time  been  led  by  four  leaders  or  princes, 
or  in  some  manner  to  have  connected  the  appearance 
and  action  of  four  important  personages  with  its  ear- 
liest traditional  history."*^  It  is  interesting  to  note 
also,  that  the  disposition  of  the  brothers,  and  the 
antipathy  that  existed  upon  the  part  of  the  two  elder 
brothers  towards  the  younger  in  the  Book  of  Mormon 
account,  has  not  been  forgottea  by  the  traditions. 
Nephi,  though  a  younger  son,  by  his  obedience  to  his 
father,  and  faith  in  the  divinity  of  the  message  his 
father  bore,  became  a  favorite  with  his  father,  like 
Joseph,  of  Bible  fame,  and  was  chosen  of  God.  This 
aroused  the  jealousy  and  anger  of  his  elder  brothers, 
Laman  and  Lemuel,  Laman  being  the  leader,  who 
rejected  their  father's  teachings,  finally  rebelling 
against  him  and  their  younger  brothers,  Nephi  and 
Sam,  who  were  of  the  same  spirit,  Sam  looking  up 
to  his  brother,  yet  younger  than  himself,  with  love 
and  confidence.  A  Guatemalan  legend,  though  con- 
fused in  detail,  as  legends  are,  yet  tells  a  story  very 
similar  in  substance,  to  this  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
They  came  from  four  brothers,  of  whom  "the  eldest 
was  puffed  up  in  his  own  conceit."  He  tried  to  do 
things  **against  the  will  of  his  parents."  "The 
younger  sons,  who  exhibited  quite  a  different  spirit," 
were  granted  the  favors  and  honors  the  elders  would 

^6lbid.,  pp.  94,96,97. 


176  BOOK  OP  MORMON 

have  ambitiously  gained.  *•  Mr.  Brinton  gives  tradi- 
tions conveying  a  similar  idea.  *'Tupi,  highest  god 
and  first  man  of  the  Tupis  of  Brazil,"  is  depicted  with 
horns;  **he  was  one  of  four  brothers,  and  only  after 
a  desperate  struggle  did  he  drive  his  fraternal  rivals 
from  the  field.  "^"^  "Another  similar  Tupi  myth  is 
that  of  Timindonar  and  Aricoute.  They  were  broth- 
ers, the  one  of  fair  complexion,  the  other  dark.  They 
were  constantly  struggling,  and  Aricoute,  which 
means  the  cloudy  or  stormy  day,  was  worsted."*^ 

The  Quiche  tradition  says  their  ancestors  came 
from  Tulan,  across  the  sea,  led  by  four  leaders.*® 
The  Algonkins  and  Dakotas  '*both  traced  their  lives 
back  to  four  ancestors."^"  "Peru  was  populated 
about  five  hundred  years  after  the  deluge.  Its  first 
inhabitants  flowed  in  abundance  towards  the  valley 
of  Cuzco,  conducted  by  four  brothers,  Ayer-Manco- 
Topo,  Ayar-Cachi-Topa,  Ayar-Auca-Topa,  and 
Ayar-Uchu-Topa,  who  were  accompanied  by  their 
sisters  and  wives,  named  Mama-Cora,  Hipa-Haucum, 
Mama-Huacum,  and  Pilca-Huacum.  .  .  .  The  young- 
est of  the  brothers,  according  to  the  tradition,  was  at 
the  same  time  most  skillful  and  handy." ^  ^  It  will  be 
noticed  that  the  youngest  brother  is  represented  in 
the  tradition  as  he  is  described  in  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon record;    the  same  qualities  are  ascribed  to  him, 


*8  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  228. 
*''  Myths  of  the  New  World,  pp.  183,  184. 
"Ibid.,  pp.  218,  219,  note  3. 

*9  Native  Races,  pp.  181, 182;  North  Americans  of  Antiquity, 
p.  215. 
60  Myths  of  the  New  World,  p.  94. 
B 1  Peruvian  Antiquities,  by  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  p.  52. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  177 

the  same  importance  of  position.  He  is  represented 
as  the  founder  of  the  national  history,  the  teacher 
of  the  arts  of  civilization.  Montesinos  declared  that 
the  Peruvian  civilization  *'was  originated  by  a  people 
led  by  four  brothers,  who  settled  in  the  valley  of 
Cuzco  and  developed  civilization  there  in  a  very 
human  way.  The  youngest  of  these  brothers  assumed 
supreme  authority,  and  became  the  first  of  a  long 
line  of  sovereigns."  ^^  Then,  there  was  another  tra- 
dition about  a  Manco  Capac  and  his  wife.  Mama  Oello, 
who  founded  the  ancient  civilization  of  Peru  in  the 
valley  of  Cuzco,  **Manco  Capac  teaching  the  men  the 
arts  of  agriculture,  and  Mama  Oello  initiating  her 
own  sex  in  the  mysteries  of  weaving  and  spinning."*  * 
Montesinos  accepts  the  story  about  four  brothers,  of 
whom  the  youngest  was  the  leader,  in  preference  to 
this  later  one,  but  we  believe  the  later  tradition  is 
related  to  the  former  one;  that  the  only  difference 
is  that  in  the  latter  tradition  the  principal  actor  is 
singled  out  and  immortalized  as  the  hero  in  the 
national  drama,  the  father  of  the  national  history. 
This  idea  is  encouraged  by  the  interpretation  of  the 
terms.  *'Mama,"  we  are  told,  signifies  mothers 
"Inca*'  signified  king  or  lord.  *'Capac"  meant  great 
or  powerful,  ^  * 

THE  LOGIC   OF  THE  EVIDENCE. 

Other  traditions  might  be  given :  the  Muyscas  of 
Bogota,  and  the  Quarani^  of  Paraguay,  all  of  South 
America,  also  traced  their  descent  back  to  the  four 

« 2  Ancient  America,  p.  264. 

»»  Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  1,  book  1,  chap.  1,  pp.  8,  9. 

•*  Ibid.,  foot-note,  p.  9 


178  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

brothers,"*  but  sufficient  has  been  given,  we  believe, 
to  show  the  trend  of  the  native  idea.  We  are  now 
ready  to  sum  up  the  conclusions  to  which  the  evi- 
dences we  have  examined  point.  First,  that  the 
ancient  Americans  were  of  Old  World  origin.  Sec- 
ond, that  the  only  theory  that  will  agree  with  all  the 
facts  and  circumstances  of  archaeological  source,  and 
that  is  compelled  to  invent  no  excuses,  overlook  or 
discard  no  prominent  feature  of  tradition,  relic,  or 
ruin,  is  that  there  were  two  distinct  civilizations 
before  the  time  of  the  Aztecs  and  the  Incas,  one  pre- 
ceding the  other  and  confining  its  limits  to  North 
America,  while  the  seat  of  its  highest  development, 
hence  its  greatest  age  was  in  Central  America. 
Third,  that  the  second  civilization  began  in  the  Cuzco 
region  of  South  America  and  extended  upward  into 
Central  America  and  Mexico,  and  that  it  was  to  this 
people  that  the  traditions  refer.  These  conclusions, 
so  satisfactory  from  an  archaeological  stand -point, 
and  taken  in  connection  with  the  traditional  accounts 
of  the  national  founders,  identify  the  ancient  prede- 
cessors of  the  Aztecs  and  the  Incas  as  no  other  than 
the  Nephites  of  Book  of  Mormon  history. 

»»  Myths  of  the  New  World,  p.  101,  note  1. 


THE  MOUND-BUILDERS. 

We  now  come  to  the  oldest  period  of  American  his- 
tory, not  that  we  have  not  referred  to  this  period 
before  in  the  chapters  on  the  pre- Aztec  civilization  of 
Mexico  and  Central  America,  but  in  the  latter  coun- 
tries the  first  period  could  hardly  be  considered  by 
itself,  since  its  remains  had  become  so  mixed  and 
confused  with  those  of  the  succeeding  periods,  and 
the  descendants  of  the  latter  people  were  in  posses- 
sion of  the  regions.  But  in  the  United  States  the 
antiquities,  such  as  there  are,  stand  distinct.  Per- 
haps among  the  smaller  relics  succeeding  peoples  are 
represented  to  more  or  less  extent,  but  the  principal 
class  of  the  antiquities,  the  ruins,  or  mounds,  stand 
silent  and  alone.  If  the  latter  people  who  came  into 
Central  America  and  Mexico  spread  over  the  United 
States,  their  buildings  have  vanished  entirely,  and 
only  the  earthworks  of  the  mysterious  Mound -build- 
ers remain.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  there  is 
much  that  can  be  presented  to  speak  for  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  Mound- builders'  age.  If  the  direct  traces 
of  the  period  following  this  first  period,  and  preced- 
ing the  Aztec  period,  were  so  scarce  in  Mexico  and 
Central  America  even  so  early  as  when  Europeans 
first  came,  it  can  be  easily  understood  how  much 
more  scarce  must  have  been  the  traces  of  the  people 
that  lived  in  the  first  period,  before  the  second  people 
ever  came,  by  the  time  that  modern  investigation 
was  begun;  how  much  more  difficult,  indeed,  how 
impossible,  to  arrive  at  any  just  idea  of  what  their 


180  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

civilization  might  have  been  from  such  scanty  evi- 
dence as  is  left  to  speak  for  these  most  ancient  people 
of  America. 

The  mounds  are  divided  into  two  classes.  First, 
mounds  proper,  ** described  as  solid  pyramidal  masses 
of  earth,  cased  with  brick  or  stone,  level  at  the  top, 
and  furnished  with  ascending  ranges  of  steps  on  the 
outside;"  Second,  enclosures  "formed  by  heavy 
embankments  of  earth  and  stone."  "There  is  noth- 
ing to  explain  these  constructions  so  clearly  as  to 
leave  no  room  for  conjecture  and  speculation,"  says 
Baldwin,  though  it  is  generally  accepted  that  they 
were  used  for  purposes  of  defense,  and  as  founda- 
tions for  some  kind  of  structures.  Of  the  first  class, 
the  solid  mounds,  Baldwin  says:  **I  find  it  most 
reasonable  to  believe  that  the  mounds  in  this  part  of 
the  continent  [he  means  the  United  States]  were 
used  as  similar  structures  were  used  in  Mexico  and 
Central  America.  The  lower  mounds,  or  most  of 
them,  must  have  been  constructed  as  foundations  of 
the  more  important  edifices  of  the  mound -building 
people.  Many  of  the  great  buildings  erected  on  such 
pyramidal  foundations,  at  Palenque,  Uxmal,  and 
elsewhere  in  that  region,  have  not  disappeared, 
because  they  were  built  of  hewn  stone,  laid  in  mortar. 

"For  reasons  not  difficult  to  understand,  the  Mound - 
builders,  beginning  their  works  on  the  Lower  Miss- 
issippi, constructed  such  edifices  of  wood,  or  some 
other  perishable  material;  therefore  not  a  trace  of 
them  remains.  The  higher  mounds,  with  broad,  flat 
summits,  reached  by  flights  of  steps  on  the  outside, 
are  like  the  Mexican  teocallis,  or  temples.     In  Mexico 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  181 

and  Central  America  these  structures  were  very 
numerous.  .  .  .  The  resemblance  is  very  striking, 
and  the  most  reasonable  explanation  seems  to  be  that 
in  both  regions  mounds  of  this  class  were  intended 
for  the  same  uses."^ 

Of  the  second  class  of  works,  those  supposed  to 
have  been  used  for  military  purposes,  Squier  and 
Davis  say:  "There  seems  to  have  existed  a  system 
of  defenses  extending  from  the  sources  of  the  Alle- 
ghany and  Susquehanna  in  New  York,  diagonally  a 
cross  the  country,  through  Central  and  Northern 
Ohio  to  the  Wabash." 

Fort  Ancient,  on  the  Little  Miami  River,  in  Ohio, 
forty-two  miles  northeast  of  Cincinnati,  covered  a 
circuit  of  five  miles,  the  embankment  measuring,  in 
many  places,  ** twenty  feet  in  perpendicular  height," 
and,  it  is  said,  could  have  held  a  garrison  of  60,000 
men  with  their  families  and  provisions.*  Villages 
and  towns  were  encircled  by  great  embankments  for 
protection.^  Signal- stations  were  ^'exceedingly 
numerous  on  all  the  watercourses;"  they  seem  to 
have  been  employed  "throughout  the  entire  extent" 
of  the  military  works.  Short  says:  "Only  a  few 
minutes  were  necessary  by  means  of  such  a  per- 
fected system  in  which  to  transmit  a  signal  fifty  or 
one  hundred  miles,"  and  that  the  system  rivaled  the 
signal -systems  in  use  at  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.* 

1  Ancient  America,  pp.  17-20;  Also  see  North  Americans  of 
Antiquity,  pp.  51,  52. 

2  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  51,  52,  53. 
"  Ancient  America,  p.  20. 

*  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  52,  63,  100. 


182  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

The  outlines  of  the  embankments  were  "designed 
in  the  forms  of  animals,  birds,  serpents,  and  even 
men."  There  were  squares  and  circles  that,  though 
they  enclosed  great  areas,  were  designed  so  per- 
fectly, Professor  Baldwin  says,  **with  a  geometrical 
precision  which  implies  a  knowledge  in  the  builders 
that  may  be  called  scientific."  *  Short  says:  "The 
discovery  of  these  geometrical  combinations — exe- 
cuted with  such  precision — in  many  parts  of  the 
country,  led  to  the  belief  that  the  Mound-builders 
were  one  people  spread  over  a  large  territory,  pos- 
sessed of  the  same  institutions,  religion,  and  perhaps 
one  government.  These  facts  are  highly  important 
as  shedding  light  upon  the  degree  of  their  civiliza- 
tion. The  evidence  is  ample  that  they  were  pos- 
sessed of  regular  scales  of  measurement,  of  the 
means  of  determining  angles,  and  of  computing  the 
area  to  be  enclosed  by  a  square  and  circle,  so  that 
the  space  enclosed  by  these  figures  standing  side  by 
side  might  exactly  correspond.  In  a  word,  their 
scientific  and  mathematical  knowledge  was  of  a  very 
respectable  order."  •  Baldwin,  in  reviewing  the 
works  of  the  Mound-builders,  observes  that  "To 
make  such  works  possible  under  any  circumstances 
there  must  be  settled  life,  with  its  accumulations  and 
intelligently  organized  industry."  ** 

From  what  little  remains  of  the  manufacturies  of 
the  Mound -builders  there  is  "proof,"  Mr.  Short  says, 


"Ancient  America,  pp.  27,  39. 
•North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  49,  50. 
7  Ancient  America,  p.  33;    North  Americans  of  Antiquity, 
foot-note,  p.  54. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  183 

"that  they  had  attained  a  respectable  degree  of 
advancement,  and  show  that  they  understood  the 
advantages  of  the  division  of  labor.'*  * 'Their 
domestic  utensils,  the  cloth  of  which  they  made  their 
clothing,  and  the  artistic  vessels  met  with  everywhere 
in  the  mounds  point  to  the  development  of  home  cul- 
ture and  domestic  industry."  ®  Matting,  made  of 
coarse,  vegetable,  cane-like  fiber;  cloth,  the  thread 
of  the  warp  double  and  twisted ;  jars  and  vases,  some 
of  them  beautiful,  of  * 'strange  and  artistic  forms," 
beautifully  ornamented  with  etchings  and  graceful 
lines;  articles  of  pottery,  ''elegantly  designed  and 
finished;"  ornaments,  a  beautiful  imitation  of  tor- 
toise shells,  made  of  copper,  the  "workmanship 
evincing  a  delicate  skill;"  "a  beautiful  shell  neck- 
lace;" bracelets,  pendents,  beads;  stone  pipes  of 
"excellent  workmanship,"  in  animal  designs;  axes, 
single  and  double;  adzes,  chisels,  drills  or  gravers, 
lance-heads,  knives,  hammers,  and  needles  are  some 
of  the  things  which  have  been  found  in  the  mounds 
of  the  United  States."  Stone,  flint,  copper,  bone, 
silver,  obsidian,  mica,  are  among  the  substances  that 
were  used,  of  which  relics  have  been  found.  Speak- 
ing of  the  fine  workmanship  of  the  articles  of  stone, 
Baldwin  remarks:  "Tools  of  some  very  hard  mate- 
rial must  have  been  required  to  work  the  porphyry 
in  this  manner."  ^° 

"But  their  intelligence,  skill,   and  civilized  ways 
are  shown  not  only  by  their  constructions  and  manu- 

•  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  97,  98. 

» Ibid.,  pp.  37-66;  Ancient  America,  pp.  40,  41,  61. 

*o  Ancient  America,  pp.  40,  41. 


1»4  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

facturies,  but  also  by  their  mining  works,****  the 
same  authority  goes  on  to  say.  Short  tells  us  that 
"They  mined  copper,  which  they  wrought  into  imple- 
ments of  war,  into  ornaments  and  articles  for  domes- 
tic use.  They  quarried  mica  for  mirrors  and  other 
purposes.  They  furthermore  worked  flint  and  salt- 
mines." **One  of  the  best  evidences  we  have  of  the 
systematic  government  and  habits  of  the  Mound - 
builders,  together  with  the  comparatively  advanced 
state  of  the  practical  arts  among  them,  is  found  in 
the  ancient  copper  mines  of  the  Lake  Superior 
regions  so  extensively  operated  by  them  at  quite  a 
remote  period."  ^^  It  is  said  that  in  the  Ontonagon 
region  traces  of  these  ancient  miners  are  to  be  seen 
for  thirty  miles.  Baldwin  says:  **The  area  covered 
by  the  ancient  works  is  larger  than  that  which 
includes  the  modern  mines,  for  they  are  known  to 
exist  in  the  dense  forests  of  other  districts,  districts 
which  have  not  yet  been  fully  explored,  and  he 
observes  that  the  ancient  miners  showed  "remarkable 
skill  in  discovering  and  tracing  actual  veins  of  the 
metal."  *^  Short  says  that  the  use  of  copper  was 
common  all  the  way  from  the  regions  of  the  mines 
to  the  Gulf,  which  shows  that  the  people  carried  on 
a  commerce  with  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  we 
are  assured  that  they  did.  Short  says  their  trade  was 
wide-spread;  that  "they  constructed  canals  by  which 
lake  systems  were  united."** 

iilbid.,  p.  61. 

i»  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  89, 98. 

*«  Ancient  America,  pp.  44-46. 

^*  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  98,  100. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  185 

The  same  authority  declares  that  the  Mound- 
builders  '*were  an  agricultural  people,  as  the  exten- 
sive ancient  garden-beds  found  in  Wisconsin  and 
Missouri  indicate."  Ancient  garden-beds  have  been 
found  in  different  states.  We  are  told  that  **their 
presence  may  always  be  detected  in  fields  of  growing 
grain  by  its  luxuriant  growth  and  deeper  green." ^* 

Mr.  Short  asserts  that  '*this  remarkable  people  was 
possessed  of  the  beginnings  of  science,"  at  least, 
and  he  goes  on  to  say  that  if  the  Davenport  and 
Cincinnati  tablets  are  genuine,  "astronomy  must 
have  received  considerable  attention  at  their 
hands." ^'  These  tablets  were  taken  from  mounds  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  cities  after  which  the  tablets  are 
named.  The  division  of  time  indicated  by  the  Dav- 
enport tablet  is  so  modern  as  to  make  writers  suspi- 
cious that  the  tablet  might  not  be  genuine.  The  year 
is  divided  into  twelve  months,  or  three  hundred  sixty- 
eight  days.  But  the  Maya  calendar  was  just  as 
advanced;  it  was  ahead  of  European  science  at  that 
day,  yet  the  genuineness  of  its  origin  is  certain, 
for  it  was  found  in  use  here  by  the  Europeans. 
Instruments  have  been  found  which  are  supposed  to 
have  been  used  for  astronomical  purposes.  There 
are  tubes  carved  out  of  steatite,  "skillfully  cut  and 
polished."  The  diameter  diminished  towards  the 
sight  end,  and  by  placing  the  instrument  to  the  eye 
distant  objects  could  be  more  clearly  discerned. 
Taking  these  devices  in  connection  with  the  carved 


*»  Ibid.,  p.  97;  Ancient  America,  p.  34. 
*«  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  94. 


186  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

figure  of  a  man  in  the  act  of  studying  the  heavens 
through  a  tube  similar, — such  carvings  were  found  in 
Mexico  and  Peru — antiquarians  are  led  to  believe 
that  they  were  used  for  telescopic  purposes.*' 

Short  and  other  writers  say  that  the  people  became 
"extremely  populous"  in  the  United  States,  and  that 
their  "settlements  were  wide-spread.'*  It  is  interest- 
ing to  learn  that  those  ancient  people  had  as  good 
judgment  in  choosing  advantageous  sites  for  their 
cities  as  we  have  to-day.  Baldwin  says  that  "it  is 
found  that  Marietta,  Newark,  Portsmouth,  Chilli - 
cothe,  Circleville,  Ohio;  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  and 
Frankfort,  Kentucky,  were  favorite  seats  of  the 
Mound-builders.  This  leads  one  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent investigators  to  remark  that  the  centers  of 
population  are  now  where  they  were  when  the  mys- 
terious Mound-builders  existed."**  The  same  writer 
says  again:  "The  magnitude  of  their  works,  some 
of  which  approximate  the  proportions  of  Egyptian 
pyramids,  testify  to  the  architectural  talent  of  the 
people  and  the  fact  that  they  had  developed  a  system 
of  government  which  controlled  the  labor  of  multi- 
tudes, whether  of  subjects  or  slaves." 

WHO  THE    MOUND -BUILDERS  WERE. 

We  are  told  that  remains  of  the  Mound -builders 
extend  over  the  region  of  the  United  States,  espe- 
cially in  the  valleys  of  the  Mississippi,  Missouri,  and 
the  Ohio   Rivers,  and  their  tributaries,  being  most 

i^Ibid.,  pp.  94,  96;  Ancient  America,  42. 
* 8  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  97;   Ancient  America, 
pp.  30,  31. 


AND  ARCILEOLOGY.  187 

numerous  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Mis- 
souri, Arkansas,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Louisiana, 
Alabama,  Georgia,  Florida,  and  Texas."**  But  why 
not  include  Mexico  and  Central  America  in  the 
regions  of  the  Mound -builders,  the  young  student 
may  ask;  was  not  the  mound  found  in  those  sec- 
tions also?  It  was,  but  it  will  be  remembered  that 
the  territory  now  occupied  by  the  United  States 
was  deserted  when  Columbus  discovered  this  conti- 
nent, save  only  for  wandering  tribes  of  wild  Indi- 
ans, and  all  traces  of  buildings  were  gone;  the 
mounds  were  overgrown  with  forest  trees.  But  in 
Mexico  and  Central  America  nations  flourished,  as 
we  know,  and  many  of  the  ruins  of  earlier  peoples 
had  not  been  allowed  to  go  to  decay.  Because  of 
this  difference  between  the  two  sections,  writers  have 
divided  the  antiquities  of  the  respective  regions  for 
the  sake  of  convenience. 

The  opinion  prevails  among  leading  authorities, 
however,  that  relationship  did  exist  between  the 
ancient  people  of  the  United  States,  and  of  Mexico 
and  Central  America.  Bancroft  says  of  the  Mound- 
builders:  *'We  know  nothing  of  their  language  or 
manners  and  customs,  since  they  have  become 
locally  extinct;  but  their  material  monuments  .  .  , 
bear  a  very  strong  resemblance  to  those  of  the  civil- 
ized nations  of  the  South."  "I  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  the  most  plausible  conjecture  respecting  the  ori- 
gin of  the  Mound-builders  is  that  which  makes  them 


^»  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  27;   Ancient  America, 
pp.  31,  32. 


188  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

a  colony  of  the  ancient  Mayas,  who  settled  in  the 
North  during  the  continuance  of  the  great  Maya 
empire  of  Xibalba  in  Central  America  several  cen- 
turies before  Christ."  **It  is  not  at  all  unlikely 
that  a  colony  of  these  people  passed  northward  along 
the  coast  by  land  or  water,  and  introduced  their 
institutions  in  the  Mississippi  Valley." ^°  Of  course, 
here  is  the  confusion  of  idea  to  which  we  referred 
in  our  paper  on  **Origin  of  the  Ancient  Americans." 
The  earliest  civilization  is  attributed  to  the  remote 
ancestors  of  the  people  found  here  by  the  discover- 
ers, because  it  is  not  known  to  the  learning  of  the 
world  that  a  distinct  people  lived  and  died  here 
before  the  ancestors  of  the  Mayas  ever  came.  But 
however  far  from  the  mark  any  of  these  theories  may 
be,  they  recognize  kinship  in  the  remains  of  the 
regions  referred  to,  it  will  be  noticed,  and  that  is  the 
important  thing. 

The  point  to  which  we  here  wish  to  call  the  young 
student's  attention  particularly  is,  first,  the  fact  that 
the  characteristic  feature  of  ancient  architecture  was 
the  same  in  the  United  States,  and  in  Mexico  and 
Central  America;  second,  the  significance  of  this 
fact,  which  can  point  to  but  one  conclusion,  and 
that  is,  that  the  ancient  Mound -builders  of  all  these 
regions  must  have  been  the  same  people,  or  they 
would  not  have  built  alike  wherever  they  went. 
Baldwin  says:  **Consider,  then,  that  elevated  and 
terraced  foundations  for  important  buildings  are 
peculiar  to  the  ancient  Mexicans  and  Central  Ameri- 

••  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  pp.  538,  539. 


AND  ARCILEOLOGY.  189 

cans;  that  this  method  of  construction  which,  with 
them,  was  the  rule,  is  found  nowhere  else,  save  the 
terraced  elevations,  carefully  constructed,  and  pre- 
cisely like  theirs  in  form  and  appearance,  occupy  a 
chief  place  among  the  remaining  works  of  the 
Mound -builders.'*  "This  method  of  construction 
was  brought  to  the  Mississippi  Valley  from  Mexico 
and  Central  America,  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  that 
region  and  the  Mound -builders  being  the  same  peo- 
ple in  race,  and  also  in  civilization,  when  it  was 
brought  here."** 

Mr.  Short  says  that  the  civilization  of  the  Mound - 
builders  "unfolded  in  its  fuller  glory  in  the  valley  of 
Anahuac,"^*  Mexico  and  Central  America.  Speak- 
ing of  the  resemblances  between  the  antiquities  of 
these  regions  and  those  of  the  United  States,  he 
says  further:  **It  is  needless  to  discuss  the  fact  that 
the  works  of  the  Mound -builders  exist  in  consid- 
erable numbers  in  Texas,  extending  across  the  Rio 
Grande  into  Mexico,  establishing  an  unmistakable 
relationship  as  well  as  actual  union  between  the  trun- 
cated pyramids  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  the 
Tocalli  of  Mexico  and  the  countries  further  south. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  unity  of  the  origin 
of  the  works  in  both  countries." ^^  As  indicating 
that  commercial  intercourse  was  carried  on  between 
the  two  regions  Mr.  Short  cites  us  to  the  fact  that 
Mexican  obsidian  has  been  discovered  in  the  mounds 


»» Ancient  America,  p.  71. 

«2  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  100. 

"  Ibid.,  p.  78. 


190  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

of  the  Mississippi  Valley.**  Other  circumstances 
referred  to  hereby  the  writer  may  represent  the 
Mound- builders,  or  they  may  represent  another 
people  who  came  after.  Mr.  Short  speaks  of  the 
similarity  of  **  sculptured  portraitures  of  the  facial 
type"  found  in  the  two  sections,  and  quotes  another 
who  says:  **A11  around  the  lakes  of  Mexico  there 
are  traces  of  ancient  potteries,  and  I  noticed  that 
the  bits  of  broken  red  earthenware  scattered  about 
them  are  identical  in  composition  and  color  with 
those  I  have  picked  up  in  the  valley  of  the  Miss- 
issippi, and  supposed  to  be  relics  of  the  ancient 
Mound -builders."** 

Professor  Baldwin  says  again:  "Their  [the 
Mound -builders]  constructions  were  similar  in  design 
and  arrangement  to  those  found  in  Mexico  and  Cen- 
tral America.  Like  the  Mexicans  and  Central 
Americans,  they  had  many  of  the  smaller  structures 
known  as  teocalHsy  and  also  large,  high  mounds,  with 
level  summits,  reached  by  great  flights  of  steps. 
Pyramidal  platforms  or  foundations  for  important 
edifices  appear  in  both  regions,  and  are  very  much 
alike.  In  Central  America  important  edifices  were 
built  of  hewn  stone,  and  can  still  be  examined  in 
their  ruins.  The  Mound -builders,  like  some  of  the 
ancient  people  of  Mexico  and  Yucatan,  used  wood, 
sun-dried  brick,  or  some  other  material  that  could 
not  resist  decay.  There  is  evidence  that  they  used 
timber  for  building  purposes.     In  one  of  the  mounds 


»*Ibid.,pp.  253,  254. 
2»Ibid.,  p.  254. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  191 

opened  in  the  Ohio  Valley  two  chambers  were  found 
with  remains  of  the  timber  of  which  the  walls  were 
made,  and  with  arched  ceilings,  precisely  like  those 
in  Central  America,  even  to  the  over  lapping  stones. 
Chambers  have  been  found  in  some  of  the  Central 
American  and  Mexican  mounds,  but  there  hewn 
stones  were  used  for  the  walls.  In  both  regions  the 
elevated  and  terraced  foundations  remain,  and  can 
be  compared."  *• 

We  have  been  particular  to  show  the  evidence  of 
relationship  between  the  ancient  people  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  because 
it  is  so  important  in  its  bearings  upon  the  question 
of  the  identity  of  the  Mound- builders,  whether  they 
were,  or  were  not,  the  Jaredites  of  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, who  began  their  civilization  in  Central  America 
and  spread  into  the  upper  regions  of  America.  And 
there  is  another  reason,  or  it  is  comprehended  in  the 
one  just  mentioned.  Were  evidence  wanting  to  show 
that  at  one  time,  anciently,  the  same  people  had 
inhabited  the  whole  of  North  America;  or  if  the  evi- 
dence was  to  the  contrary,  it  would  be  a  serious 
reflection  on  the  claims  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  to 
being  a  truthful  account  of  the  early  history  of  this 
continent.  Mr.  Short  suggests  that  the  Mound- 
builders  may  have  *' en  grafted  a  new  life  upon  the 
wreck  of  Xibalba;"  in  other  words,  that  the  empire 
of  Xibalba,  the  name  given  by  science  to  the  ancient 
empire  of  the  supposed  ancestors  of  the  Mayas,  pre- 
ceded the  Mound-builders  in  Central  America.     But 

'•Ancient  America,  pp.  70,  71. 


192  BOOK  OP  MORMON 

the  mounds  of  Central  America  indicate  too  great  an 
age  to  admit  of  such  a  theory.  They  were  built  by 
the  earliest  people,  and  the  ruins  these  people  left 
were  repaired  and  restored  by  succeeding  peoples,  as 
we  have  seen,  but  were  not  originally  built  by  a  later 
people.  The  ruins  of  Central  America  are  older  than 
the  ruins  of  any  other  part  of  the  continent  because 
the  Mound -builders  began  their  civilization  there, 
and  not  somewhere  at  the  North.  If  Mr.  Short  had 
not  fixed  upon  the  theory  for  the  course  of  migration 
that  he  has,  he  would  not  have  to  go  to  such  imagi- 
nary extremes  to  make  archaeological  facts  harmo- 
nize. If  there  was  a  non- mound  style  of  ruins  in 
Central  America  which  was  older  than  the  mound 
style,  then  it  would  be  plausible  to  talk  about  an 
empire  there  before  the  Mound -builders  came.  But 
as  the  mound  architecture  represents  the  oldest  ruins 
of  Central  America,  it  identifies,  the  Mound-builders 
as  the  oldest  people,  and  establishes  it  to  be  a  fact 
that  the  Mound -builders  of  Central  America  and  of 
the  United  States  were  the  same  people. 

As  to  how  long  ago  these  first  civilizers  of  America 
vanished,  and  how  long  they  were  here,  it  seems  to 
us  not  worth  while  to  give  more  than  an  idea  of  sci- 
entific opinion,  since  scientific  gentlemen  are  so 
divided  among  themselves  on  this  question,  and  on 
the  question  of  the  antiquity  of  the  human  race,  gen- 
erally. One  professor  tells  us  that  man  lived  in  the 
Tertiary  Age;  that  the  race  is  **hundreds  of  thou- 
sands, perhaps  millions  of  years  old.*'  Another  pro- 
fessor, just  as  learned,  denies  the  theory  of  man's 
extreme  antiquity  on  the  earth.     So  it  is  not  sur- 


AND  ARCHJEOLOGV.  193 

prising  if  there  is  a  variety  of  opinions  about  the  age 
of  the  ancient  Americans.  Professor  Baldwin  tells 
us  that  "some  investigators  who  have  given  much 
study  to  the  antiquities,  traditions,  old  books,  and 
probable  geological  history  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America,  believe  that  the  first  civilization  the  world 
ever  saw  appeared  in  this  part  of  ancient  America,  or 
was  immediately  connected  with  it.  They  hold  that 
the  human  race  first  rose  to  civilized  life  in  America, 
which  is,  geologically,  the  oldest  of  the  continents."*  "^ 
Short  thinks  that  "a  thousand  or  two  years  may  have 
elapsed  since  they  [the  Mound-builders]  vacated  the 
Ohio  Valley."**  Baldwin  says  that  "far  more  than 
two  thousand  years,  it  may  be,  must  have  elapsed 
since  they  left  the  valley  of  the  Ohio."**  The  time 
of  man's  residence  on  this  continent,  as  estimated 
by  Sir  John  Lubbock,  is  three  thousand  years.*® 

Since  scientific  opinion  is  so  discordant,  we  think  it 
would  be  better  to  point  the  investigator  to  some  of 
the  facts  and  circumstances,  and  let  him  form  his 
own  conclusions  as  to  the  age  they  indicate,  and 
judge  for  himself  whether  the  evidence  is  in  accord- 
ance with  Book  of  Mormon  statements.  Mr.  Short 
says:  "It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  no  tradition  was 
ever  found  among  the  Indians  as  to  the  origin  or 
purpose  for  which  the  mounds  were  constructed."^^ 
He  says  further :  "The  annual  rings  of  a  tree  pre- 
sent us  indisputable  evidence  as  to  its  age.     It  is  evi- 

2  7  Ibid.,  pp.  159,  160. 

2  8  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  106. 

*»  Ancient  America,  p.  73. 

•0  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  130. 

•1  Ibid,  p.  102. 


194  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

dent  that  forests  which  cover  these  remains  have 
grown  up  since  they  were  vacated,  as  no  difference 
exists  between  them  and  the  surrounding  vegetation 
— no  breaks  exist  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
works.  The  oldest  of  the  trees  found  upon  the  works 
present  eight  hundred  annual  rings,  indicating  as 
many  years  growth. "^^  Mr.  Short  reminds  us  that 
this  does  not  represent  the  actual  time  since  the 
abandonment  of  these  ancient  works ;  that  it  must  be 
taken  into  consideration  the  time  that  is  required 
"for  the  slow  encroachment  of  a  forest."  Professor 
Baldwin  makes  us  acquainted  with  the  decayed  state 
in  which  skeletons  of  Mound -builders  have  been 
found, — **in  such  a  state  of  decay  as  to  render  all 
attempts  to  restore  the  skull,  or,  indeed,  any  part  of 
the  skeleton,  entirely  hopeless,"  while  "sound  and 
.well-preserved  skeletons,  known  to  be  nearly  two 
thousand  years  old,  have  been  taken  from  burial- 
places  in  England,  and  other  European  countries 
less  favorable  for  preserving  them,"  showing,  Pro- 
fessor Baldwin  observes,  that  "these  decayed  skele- 
tons of  the  Mound -builders  are  much  more  than  two 
thousand  years  old."^' 

But  there  is  a  circumstance  which,  "in  connection 
with"  the  Book  of  Mormon,  is  one  of  the  most 
important  and  significant  things  we  have  to  consider 
in  relation  to  this  question  as  to  the  age  of  the 
ancient  North  Americans,  we  think;  and  one  which 
does  more  to  locate  their  time  in  history  than  any 


•»  Ibid.,  p.  104. 
•»  Ibid.,  pp.  48,  49. 


AND  ARCHAEOLOGY.  195 

other  single  circumstance.  We  refer  to  the  fact  of 
their  having  been  mound -builders.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  **mound-building  habit,"  as  a  current  writer 
puts  it,  was  universal  among  the  primitive  peoples  of 
Europe  and  Asia.  In  other  words,  the  characteristic 
feature  of  the  architecture  of  all  the  nations  that  rose 
after  the  flood  is  the  mound,  or  pyramid.  The  rea^ 
son  for  this  is  plainly  evident.  It  is  the  old  Bible 
story  that  after  the  flood  all  of  humanity  that 
remained  belonged  to  one  large  family,  as  it  were, 
speaking  the  same  language,  having  the  same  aims, 
inclined  to  the  same  habits.  Then  came  the  Tower 
of  Babel  tragedy.  The  family  was  broken  up  into 
different  branches  according  to  their  respective 
tongues,  and  the  colonies  scattered  out  hither  and 
thither  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  people  were 
not  changed  in  anyway  only  that  their  language  was 
not  the  same,  now.  Otherwise  they  retained  all  the 
characteristics  they  had  before  in  common  with  one 
another,  hence  the  branch  that  went  to  Egypt  built 
pyramids  like  the  branch  that  went  to  India,  and  the 
branch  that -went  to  China  built  pyramids  like  thf 
colonies  of  Egypt  and  of  India.  In  whatever  part 
of  Asia  or  Europe  that  parent  family  scattered,  the 
wanderers  all  built  pyramids,  or  mounds. 

The  Book  of  Mormon  says  that  one  branch  of  the 
Tower  of  Babel  family,  the  Jaredites,  came  to  North 
America.  If  that  were  true,  the  people  would  have 
built  pyramids  here  as  their  brethren  did  in  other 
parts  of  the  world.  The  fact  that  they  did  so  identi- 
fies the  Mound-builders  of  North  America  with  the 
primitive  peoples  of  the  East;    identifies  them  as  a 


196  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

branch  of  the  Tower  of  Babel  family,  and  hence  the 
resemblance  in  the  architecture  of  the  ancient  North 
Americans  with  the  architecture  of  the  early  nations 
of  Asia  and  Europe.  The  logic  of  these  circum- 
stances forces  itself  upon  the  minds  of  some  who 
view  the  subject  from  a  scientific  standpoint  only. 
Mr.  Short  says:  **The  fact  that  civilizations  having 
such  analogies  are  developed  in  isolated  quarters  of 
the  globe,  separated  from  each  other  by  broad  seas 
and  lofty  mountains,  and  thus  indicating  a  uniformity 
of  mental  operation  and  a  unity  of  mental  inspira- 
tion, added  to  the  fact  that  the  evidence  is  of  a  pre- 
ponderating character  that  the  American  continent 
received  its  population  from  the  Old  World  leads  us 
to  the  truth  that  God  *hath  made  of  one  blood  all 
nations  of  men.'  "^* 

**  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  521. 


THE   CLIFF-DWELLERS. 

We  now  come  to  another  division  of  the  American 
antiquities,  which,  because  of  the  peculiarity  of  the 
remains,  has  been  classed  by  itself  by  archaeological 
writers.  The  Pueblos,  or  Cliff-dwellers,  who  inhab- 
ited the  state  of  Chihuahua,  in  Mexico,  and  our  own 
states  and  territories  of  Utah,  Colorado,  Arizona,  and 
New  Mexico  ^  were  a  people  whose  habits  and  mode 
of  living  were  different  from  any  of  the  other  ancient 
peoples  of  America.  Their  monuments  were  not  like 
those  of  the  Aztecs,  nor  like  those  of  any  other  peo- 
ple, Bancroft  asserts.*  Their  remains  are  "wholly 
unlike  those  of  the  Mayas,  Nahuas,  or  Mound-build- 
ers," says  Short,  though  in  minor  respects  there  are 
some  resemblances.  "The  style  of  architecture  is 
unlike  that  of  any  other  people  on  either  continent."^ 

These  strange  people  of  the  past  are  called  by 
modern  writers  after  the  Indians  who  inhabit  their 
ruins  to-day,  while  the  most  common  appellation, 
"Cliff-dwellers,"  is  given  to  them  because  of  the 
manner  of  their  buildings,  the  peculiar  locations 
which  they  chose — "the  most  remarkable  habita- 
tions," says  Mr.  Short,  "ever  occupied  by  man."^ 
Those  Cliff-dwellers  were  not  an  inferior  people,  all 
evidence  goes  to  show.     The  H.  Jay  Smith  Exploring 


*  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  275. 
2  Native  Races,  vol.  5,  p.  537. 
»  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  276. 
Mbid.,  p.  293. 


198  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

Company,  in  their  pamphlet  on  the  Cliff-dwellers,  in 
connection  with  their  exhibit  in  the  Anthropological 
Building  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  at 
Chicago,  in  1893,  says:  **From  bones  and  mummies 
found  in  the  ruins  it  is  proved  that  they  were  a  large, 
well-developed  race,  fully  equal  in  size  to  the  men 
to-day.  The  heads  were  well  formed,  and  denote 
more  than  ordinary  degree  of  intelligence,  with 
rather  refined  faces,  fair  skin,  and  fine  hair,  often 
light  and  totally  different  from  most  of  the  modern 
Indian  races  now  known,  excepting,  perhaps,  the 
Zuni  Pueblo  Indians — the  most  remarkable  living 
representatives  of  the  native  tribes  of  America"'' 
(The  reader  will  remember  that  we  have  before 
referred  to  these  Indians,  who  so  astonish  and  puzzle 
all  who  see  them,  because  of  the  unmistakable  evi- 
dence in  them  of  white  ancestry.^  The  same  source 
tells  us  that  the  Cliff-dweller  buildings  were  **pecul- 
iarly  advanced  for  such  primitive  people."** 

It  is  difficult  to  give  the  reader  an  adequate  idea 
of  the  strangeness  of  these  cliff -dwellings  by  any 
written  description.  As  some  one  has  said,  it  can 
be  done  better  by  pictures  than  by  words.  Mr. 
Short,  in  his  work,  **North  Americans  of  Antiquity," 
gives  many  fine  illustrations  that  convey,  at  a  glance, 
the  queer  style  of  these  habitations.     The  ancient 


8  See  pamphlet,  "The  Cliff-dwellers,"  for  World's  Columbian 
Exposition,  1893,  p.  5. 

«  See  chapter  on  "Character  of  the  Ancient  American  Civili- 
zation, and  Color  of  the  People." 

^  See  pamphlet,  "The  Cliff-dwellers,"  p.  3. 


Cliff  Dwellers'  Home. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  199 

builders  chose  the  most  seemingly  impossible  sites, 
where  no  one  would  ever  think  of  looking  for  human 
habitations.  "Way  up  in  the  mountains,  among  the 
cliffs,  frightful  to  look  at,  when,  indeed,  they  can  be 
seen  at  all,  the  structures  are  hidden  in  niches  of  the 
rock.  And  it  was  not  a  house  here  and  there,  only ; 
there  were  villages  and  towns.  Here  is  one  descrip- 
tion given:  *'There,  in  the  deserts  of  Arizona,  on 
well-nigh  unapproachable  isolated  bluffs,  they  built 
new  towns.'*  We  are  told  that  on  a  stream  known  as 
the  Hovenweep,  a  Mr.  Jackson  and  his  party  discov- 
ered the  ruins  of  a  city.  Mr.  Jackson's  description  is 
as  follows:  **The  stream  referred  to  sweeps  the  foot 
of  a  rocky  sandstone  ledge,  some  forty  or  fifty  feet  in 
height,  upon  which  is  built  the  highest  and  better 
preserved  portion  of  the  settlement.  Its  semicircular 
sweep  conforms  to  the  ledge,  each  little  house  of  the 
outer  circle  being  built  close  upon  its  edge.  Below 
the  level  of  these  upper  houses  some  ten  or  fifteen 
feet,  and  within  the  semicircular  sweep,  are  seven 
distinctly  marked  depressions,  each  separating  the 
other  by  rocky  debris,  the  lower  or  first  series  proba- 
bly of  small  community  houses.  Upon  either  flank, 
and  founded  upon  rocks,  are  buildings  similar  in  size 
and  in  other  respects  to  the  large  ones  on  the  line 
above.  As  paced  off,  the  upper  or  convex  surface 
measured  one  hundred  yards  in  length.  Each  little 
department  is  small  and  narrow,  averaging  six  feet 
in  length,  the  walls  being  eighteen  inches  in  thick- 
ness.    The  stones  of  which  the  entire  group  is  built 


200  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

are    dressed    to    nearly    uniform    size  and    laid    in 
mortar."^ 

Describing  the  peculiarity  about  these  towns  and 
buildings  it  is  said :  **The  whole  front  of  this  portion 
of  the  town  is  without  aperture,  save  very  small 
windows,  and  is  perfectly  inaccessible.  .  .  .  Admit- 
tance was  probably  gained  from  near  the  circular 
building  in  the  center,  or  by  ladders  or  any  well- 
guarded  approach  over  the  rocks."*  We  have  as 
further  description  of  how  difficult  it  was  to  reach 
these  cliff -dwellings,  the  following,  by  a  recent 
explorer.  Doctor  George  L.  Cole.*®  Doctor  Cole's 
discoveries  were  in  New  Mexico.  He  says:  *'To 
reach  the  *Cliff  Palace'  one  must  have  sinew  and  grit, 
and  a  steady  head.  One  may  stand  in  the  canyon 
bottom,  seven  hundred  feet  below,  and  look  up  at 
the  bench  on  which  the  ruins  stand,  but  only  bal- 
loons or  kites  would  make  the  direct  ascent  possible. 
To  reach  the  lofty  rock  balcony,  one  must  descend 
several  hundred  feet  from  the  mesa  above  it.  So 
there  must  be  a  farewell  to  that  skyward  glimpse, 
only  seven  hundred  feet  away,  and  yet  unattainable, 
and  then  a  detour  of  fifteen  miles,  up  the  canyon  to  a 
practicable  bit  of  canyon  wall,  and  then  back  along 
the  mesa  until  the  'Cliff  Palace'  can  again  be  seen, 
nestled  in  its  deep  niche  in  the  precipice.  When  the 
attempt  to  descend  begins,  realization  comes  of  the 
wisdom  with  which  the  Cliff-dwellers  chose  the  site 
for  their  home.    Only  by  a  single  difficult  trail  can 

8  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  pp.  304,  305. 
» Ibid.,  p.  315. 
.  10  St.  Louis  Globe- Democrat  J  issue  October  1, 


\-'.    ' 

^  "-^/v-  ^ 


Cliff  Dwellers'  Ruins. 


AND  ARCILEOLOGY.  201 

the  *Ciiff  Palace'  be  even  distantly  approached.  At 
last  the  crumbling  walls  are  well  in  sight — but  then 
comes  the  rub.  A  smooth  rock  surface,  tilted  at  an 
angle  of  seventy-five  degrees,  must  be  passed.  Once 
there  were  well  defined  finger  and  toe  holes,  but  wind 
and  rain  erosion  have  worn  smooth  the  edges,  and 
it  is  no  easy  matter  to  cling  to  the  insufficient  foot- 
hold. For  one  hundred  feet  this  is  the  only  highway. 
Keep  your  face  to  the  cliff;  don't  look  down,  else 
the  knowledge  that  eight  hundred  feet  of  almost 
sheer  declivity  lies  below  may  unsettle  your  nerves, 
and  a  slip  may  be  fatal;  creep  cautiously  along, 
working  on  from  hole  to  hole;  cling  to  the  finger 
holes  until  your  nails  are  worn — and  now  at  last  the 
platform  is  reached.*'  This  description  is  but  an 
illustration  of  other  instances.  Doctor  Cole  says: 
**The  impossibility  of  reaching  the  *Cliff  Palace'  is  a 
circumstance  common  to  these  ruins.  On  the  cliffs 
of  Walnut  Canyon,  fronting  each  other  across  the 
narrow  interval,  are  two  lofty -perched  dwellings. 
The  inhabitants  of  one  could  listen  to  the  voices  of 
the  people  of  the  other,  but  to  pay  a  neighborly  call 
meant  a  journey  of  thirty  miles  each  way."  Doctor 
Cole  also  describes  what  he  calls  an  ''aboriginal 
city,"  OP  a  "vast  communal  dwelling,"  measuring 
two  hundred  forty  by  three  hundred  feet,  which  in  its 
prime,  he  says,  **must  have  contained  at  least  six- 
teen hundred  rooms,  and  perhaps  two  thousand. 
Between  five  and  six  thousand  people  may  well  have 
dwelt  in  that  single  building."  He  says  the  cliffs  of 
the  canyon  were  honey  combed  with  cliff- dwellings 
for  about    fourteen   miles.     Doctor  Cole   tells  of  a 


202  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

building  on  the  top  of  a  cliff  one  thousand  feet  high. 
Mr.  Short  describes  some  houses  to  reach  which  he 
says,  ** Access  to  the  summit  of  the  bluff,  a  thousand 
feet  high,  was  obtained  by  a  circuitous  path  through 
a  side  canyon,  and  the  houses  themselves  could  only 
be  reached  at  the  utmost  peril  of  being  precipitated 
to  the  bottom  of  the  dizzy  abyss  by  crawling  along  a 
ledge  twenty  inches  wide  and  only  high  enough  for  a 
man  in  a  creeping  position."  ^*  Doctor  Cole  thinks 
that  the  inhabitants  of  some  of  the  more  inaccessible 
places  must  have  had  ladders  of  some  sort,  perhaps 
of  yucca  rope,  which  they  put  out  and  took  in,  and 
by  means  of  which  they  left  or  returned  to  their 
homes  on  dizzy  heights.  Sometimes  there  was  a  sort 
of  stairway  made  by  small  niches  in  the  rock,  just 
large  enough  to  put  the  toes  in  and  fasten  the  fingers 
in,  and  by  this  means  the  house-owner  climbed  up 
the  steep  incline  to  his  home,  while  sometimes  all 
natural  niches  and  irregularities  in  the  rock  that 
could  have  afforded  assistance  in  making  ascent  were 
filled  in,  presenting  a  smooth  surface,  to  make  ascent 
impossible,  it  is  supposed.  ^^  A  murderer  does  not 
seek  to  hide  from  his  pursuers,  nor  a  thief  to  conceal 
his  plunder  more  carefully  than  these  people  evi- 
dently tried  to  conceal  themselves.  There  were  sub- 
terranean and  hidden  chambers  in  some  of  the 
houses,  ^^  with  only  small  apertures  for  windows, 
mere  ''peep-holes,"  they  have  been  called;^*  some- 


11  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  p.  299. 
» 2  Ibid.,  p.  302. 

»3  Ibid.,  pp.  287,  296,  299,  314,  322. 
tMbid.,  pp.  312,  319. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  203 

times  there  were  none  at  all.  Walls,  surrounding 
villages  or  single  dwellings  or  a  group  of  dwellings, 
had  no  openings  whatever.  It  is  supposed  they  were 
scaled  by  means  of  ladders.  In  fact,  every  conceiv- 
able means  and  device  for  concealment  was  resorted 
to.  There  were  storerooms  in  which,  writers  sup- 
pose, the  people  stored  garden  produce  for  winter 
use.^^  There  were  watch-towers  perched  on  high 
elevations,  as  if  the  people  expected  attack  or  pur- 
suit, and  from  these  towers  they  could  survey  the 
surrounding  country  and  give  alarm  if  enemies  were 
approaching.^^  The  people  evidently  engaged  in 
some  sort  of  fighting  or  skirmishing,  either  in  offense 
or  defense  as  the  case  might  be,  for  among  the  ruins 
of  an  isolated  village  shut  in  by  **hundreds  of  miles 
of  granite  walls,"  there  were  found  **so  many  beau- 
tiful flint  chipg,"  Mr.  Short  tells  us,  *'that  discover- 
ers conjectured  that  it  might  have  been  the  home  of 
an  ancient  arro w  -  maker.  "^"^ 

The  skillful  workmanship  of  these  curious  people 
is  noted.  Whoever  they  were,  they  were  an  intelli- 
gent people,  and  a  people  who  knew  what  civilization 
was.  We  are  told  that  in  their  building,  **The  stones 
were  laid  in  mortar  with  much  regularity,"  and 
again,  another  method,  **The  fine,  hard,  gray  sand- 
stone blocks  are  quite  uniformly  three  inches  in 
thickness  and  laid  without  mortar,  always  breaking 
joints."     One  room  had  a  floor  of   **8mooth  cedar 


314,  319-324;  also  see  pamphlet,  "The  Cliff- 
dwellers,"  p.  3. 

^•Ibid.,  pp.  296,  299,  300. 
inbid.,  pp.286,  287. 


204  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

boards,  seven  inches  wide,  and  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  thick.  The  edges  were  squarely  cut,  and  their 
smooth  surfaces  indicated  that  they  were  pohshed  by 
being  rubbed  with  flat  stones."  "A  remarkable  fea- 
ture of  the  construction  is  the  presence  of  the  Yuca- 
tan arch,  formed  of  overlapping  stones.'*  In  another 
instance  we  are  told,  **The  workmanship  of  the 
structure  was  of  a  superior  order;  the  perpendiculars 
were  true  ones  and  the  angles  carefully  squared. 
The  mortar  used  was  of  a  grayish  white  color,  very 
compact  and  adhesive.  Some  little  taste  was  evinced 
by  the  occupants  of  this  human  swallow's  nest.  The 
front  rooms  were  plastered  smoothly  with  a  thin  layer 
of  firm  adobe  cement,  colored  a  deep  maroon,  while 
a  white  band,  eight  inches  wide,  had  been  painte] 
around  the  room  at  both  floor  and  ceiling !"  Speaking 
of  the  feat  of  making  such  buildings  as  these  cliff- 
dweller  habitations  were,  a  writer  says  that  when 
one  considers  that  the  building  materials  **must  have 
been  brought  from  far  below  by  means  of  ropes,  or 
carried  in  small  quantities  up  the  dangerous  stair- 
way, the  only  wonder  is  that  the  people  accomplished 
what  they  did,  and  with  such  a  degree  of  finish."** 
Among  the  Pueblo  ruins  have  been  found  fragments 
of  pottery  "superior  to  that  now  manufactured  by 
the  Mexicans,"  **graceful  and  artistic  vases,"  taste- 
fully painted,  the  figures  geometrical;  and  other 
relics  indicating  refinement  of  taste,  however  the 
people  came  in  possession  of  them. ^* 


t«Ibid.,pp.  287,  291,  296,324. 
»» Ibid.,  pp.  278,  282,  284.  287. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  205 

Who  were  these  people?  The  Indians  who  now 
inhabit  the  ruins  have  a  tradition  about  enemies  who 
foraged  upon  their  ancestors,  devastated  their  farms, 
massacred  the  people,  and  that  finally  their  ancestors 
were  compelled  to  leave  their  homes  and  seek  shelter 
among  the  mountains  and  hide  in  the  cliffs,  where 
they  could  store  food  and  hide  away  from  the  raid- 
ers.^® An  explorer  is  quoted  by  Mr.  Short  who 
says:  "It  was  also  a  source  of  wonder  to  us  why 
these  ancient  people  sought  such  inaccessible  places 
for  their  homes.'*  **Surely  the  country  was  not  so 
crowded  with  population  as  to  demand  the  utilization 
of  a  region  like  this."^^  In  the  H.  Jay  Smith  pam- 
phlet on  the  Cliff-dwellers,  before  referred  to,  it  says: 
* 'Their  homes  were  fortresses;  they  built  no  stairs, 
cut  no  steps,  simply  hollowed  out  slight  foot  and 
hand  holes,  by  means  of  which,  and  ladders,  they 
ascended  and  descended  to  their  dwellings."^*  The 
existence  of  **small,  unlightened  rooms  where  grain 
was  stored;"  the  "com,  beans,  pumpkin  and  squash 
seeds  found  in  their  houses,"  which  seemed  to  be 
"their  chief  articles  of  food,"  so  the  writer  thinks; 
and  the  presence  of  "granaries,"  lead  the  anti- 
quarian to  believe  that  they  were  an  agricultural 
people,  while  at  the  same  time  the  same  writer  tells 
us  that  the  people  "cultivated  only  small  gardens," 
and  that  their  time  was  "probably  too  much  taken 
up  in  defending  themselves  against  their  enemies  to 
to  admit  of  their   engaging   in   extensive  out-doop 

«o  Ibid.,  pp.  302,  303. 

21  Ibid.,  foot-note,  p.  286. 

22  See  pamphlet,  "The  Cliff-dwellers,"  p.  S. 


206  BOOK  OP  MORMON 

work,"*'  however  agriculturally  inclined.  To  the 
critical  reader  it  will  appear  strange  that  the  people 
should  have  been  able  to  fill  store- houses  and  grana- 
ries, to  have  supported  themselves,  in  fact,  from  their 
own  products,  when  they  cultivated  only  * 'small  gar- 
dens," and  did  not  engage  in  "extensive  outdoor 
work."  It  looks  pretty  much  as  if  the  Pueblo 
Indians  have  the  circumstances  reversed  in  their 
tradition,  and  that  instead  of  their  ancestors  being 
raided  on,  they  were  the  raiders,  and  preyed  upon 
the  fields  of  other  people,  bringing  their  stolen  plun- 
der to  these  hiding  places  to  conceal,  as  well  as  to 
secrete  themselves. 

When  we  turn  to  the  Book  of  Mormon  we  find  just 
such  a  people  described  as  the  remains  indicate  the 
ancient  Cliff-dwellers  to  have  been.  Antiquarians 
are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  homes  of  the 
Cliff-dwellers  were  fortresses;  that  the  people  built 
in  the  peculiar  manner  they  did  for  protection.  That 
is  just  what  the  Book  of  Mormon  says,but  instead  of 
being  a  persecuted  people  to  be  pitied,  they  were  an 
army,  as  it  were,  of  outlaws  and  brigands  who  sought 
and  made  such  hiding-places  to  escape  outraged 
justice.  The  Gadianton  robbers  became  very  numer- 
ous in  the  days  of  the  Nephites,  and  their  homes  are 
described  by  the  Book  of  Mormon  to  have  been  of 
that  character,  and  situated  where  the  remains  of  the 
Cliff-dwellers  have  been  found.  We  are  told  of  these 
Gadianton  hordes  that  they  did  commit  murder  and 
plunder;    and    then    they  would  retreat  back  into 

"Ibid.,  p.  5. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  207 

mountains,  and  into  the  wilderness  and  secret  places, 
hiding  themselves  that  they  could  not  be  discov- 
ered. 2*  In  the  Book  of  Nephi,  son  of  Nephi,  we  are 
told  that  the  robbers  became  such  a  trial  to  the  peo- 
ple that  they  petitioned  the  governor  to  send  **up" 
armies  against  them;  to  **go  upon  the  mountains  and 
into  the  wilderness"  to  hunt  them  down.  But  the 
governor  replied  as  a  wise  man  would  have  done 
who  had  any  idea  of  how  the  robbers  were  intrenched. 
He  told  the  people  that  to  go  up  against  the  robbers 
would  mean  great  loss  to  them  (the  Nephites),  per- 
haps destruction,  and  he  commanded  the  people  to 
remain  on  their  own  territory  and  wait  for  attack 
when  the  robbers  sallied  forth  to  forage  upon  fields 
and  store -houses.  The  governor  evidently  referred 
to  difficulties  that  would  have  to  be  met  if  an  attempt 
were  made  to  attack  the  robbers  on  their  own  ground, 
and  that  the  chances  would  not  be  fair  for  the 
Nephites.  The  exact  character  and  situation  of  the 
robbers'  homes,  however,  is  more  clearly  designated 
in  the  account  that  follows.  The  Nephites  massed 
themselves  together  in  an  armed  body  to  await  the 
coming  of  the  robber  bands.  There  was  not  a  great 
while  to  wait,  for  the  robbers  had  been  getting  very 
bold.  We  are  told  that  they  came  **down;"  they 
sallied  forth  "from  the  hills,  and  out  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  the  wilderness,  and  their  strongholds,  and 
their  secret  places."^ ^ 
A  class  similar  to  these  Gadianton  robbers  is  said 

2*  Book  of  Mormon,  Nephi  1:  37,  large  edition. 
"Ibid.,2:  16-50;  also  seel:  26,  34r-37;  Helaman  2:  121-145;  4: 
30-38. 


206.  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

to  have  existed  among  the  first  people  of  America,  the 
Jaredites,^^  but  the  account  is  too  abridged  to  give 
us  any  description  of  how  they  lived  and  where  they 
made  their  homes.  Whether  they  preceded  the 
Nephite  brigands  in  the  mountains  and  wilds,  and 
built  homes  which  the  Nephite  brigands  discovered 
and  took  possession  of,  repaired  and  rebuilt,  we  are 
not  justified  in  saying.  But  should  such  have  been 
the  case  it  would  make  no  difference  in  the  bearings 
upon  each  other  between  archaeological  discoveries 
and  the  Book  of  Mormon.  The  facts  would  remain 
just  the  same,  and  they  are  these:  first,  that  the 
Book  of  Mormon  describes  just  such  a  people  as  it  is 
evident  the  Cliff-dwellers  were;  second,  that  discov- 
ery has  revealed  the  ruins  of  exactly  such  a  people 
as  the  Book  of  Mormon  describes  the  Gadianton  rob- 
bers to  have  been.  As  we  have  noted  so  many  times 
before  in  this  series  of  papers,  the  Book  of  Mormon 
reconciles  archaeological  evidences  much  better  than 
any  scientific  theories  that  men  have  been  able  to 
reach,  so  again  in  this  case,  we  see  that  the  Book  of 
Mormon  account  offers  a  more  consistent  explanation 
of  why  grain  and  other  field  products  were  found  in 
Cliff-dweller  cellars  and  storehouses  when  the  people 
cultivated  only  small  garden  patches.  People  who 
took  such  caution  to  protect  themselves  and  conceal 
their  hiding  places  would  not  be  likely  to  expose 
themselves  and  their  whereabouts  as  they  would  have 
had  to  do  if  they  had  engaged  in  farming  to  any 
considerable  extent. 

»«  See  Ether  3:  86,  89-92;  4: 2,  5, 79,  86,96;  6: 36,  large  edition. 
Also  see  Helaman  2: 128,  129;  Alma  17: 38-47,  large  edition. 


IN  CONCLUSION. 

The  Book  of  Mormon  makes  the  following  lead- 
ing historical  claims : 

1.  That  the  American  continent  was  peopled  by 
civilized  nations  centuries  before  the  Columbian  era. 

2.  That  there  were  different  periods  of  civilization, 
and  different  races  of  people  upon  this  continent. 

3.  That  the  ancient  colonists  came  from  the  eastern 
world. 

4.  That  Christ  visited  the  ancient  Americans,  and 
established  his  church  among  them. 

5.  That  the  prehistoric  civilizations  of  this  land 
went  into  moral,  social,  and  spiritual  decline.  That 
the  first  people  was  entirely  destroyed  by  pestilence 
and  war,  and  that  the  second  people  was  overcome, 
and  for  the  most  part  destroyed  by  a  hostile  race. 

6.  That  the  Indian  was  not  the  author  of  the 
ancient  civilization  of  America,  but  only  successor 
to  it. 

In  this  series  of  papers  it  has  been  our  endeavor 
to  deal  with  only  the  leading  claims  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon.  We  have  acted  on  the  supposition,  well 
founded,  we  believe,  that  if  these  chief  claims  can  be 
substantiated,  they  carry  minor  claims  with  them. 
It  used  to  be  thought  that  before  the  introduction  of 
European  culture  America  had  known  no  more 
enlightened  people  than  the  Indian  races.  The  Book 
of  Mormon  came  forth.  It  made  the  staggering 
assertion  that  civilized  nations  had  dwelt  upon  this 
land  in  the  misty  past,  and  gave  a  record  of  those 


210  BOOK  OF   MORMON 

nations.  Except  a  few  religious  fanatics,  simple 
enough  to  believe  in  faith,  who  would  give  any 
credence  to  a  history  of  a  people,  the  mere  fact  of 
whose  existence  was  not  known.  By  and  by,  though, 
America  began  to  receive  a  share  of  the  antiquari- 
ans' interest.  Scholars  went  to  making  research; 
explorers  set  out  to  see  what  they  could  find;  dis- 
coveries were  made  by  those  not  looking  for  them, 
and  lo!  it  was  heralded  to  the  scientific  world  that 
America,  north  and  south,  had  been  densely  inhab- 
ited, and  by  civilized  peoples,  long  before  the  dis- 
covery. 

*'But  the  Book  of  Mormon  says  the  people  could 
work  iron,"  the  skeptic  cries,  "and  iron  relics  have 
not  been  found."  What  of  it,  we  ask;  does  the 
truthfulness  of  the  record's  claim  in  regard  to  the 
character  of  the  ancient  civilization  depend  upon 
some  detail  of  its  history,  or  upon  general  evidences 
of  enlightenment?  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  we 
shall  find  proof  of  every  particular  of  what  their  his- 
tory says  about  a  people  who  lived  so  long  ago,  nor 
that  time  has  saved  direct  proof  of  a  great  deal.  By 
logical  deduction,  though,  from  knowledge  that  has 
come  to  us,  we  may  judge  as  to  claims  of  which  no 
traces  remain.  For  instance:  it  is  a  disputed  ques- 
tion among  antiquarians  whether  prehistoric  Ameri- 
cans understood  the  use  of  iron.  The  Book  of 
Mormon  declares  they  did.  Discovery  has  revealed 
achievements  the  accomplishment  of  which,  without 
tools  of  iron  and  steel,  scientists  themselves  wonder 
at,  and  can  not  explain.  We  see  there  is  very 
plausible  likelihood,  then,  that  the  ancient  Americans 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  211 

did  know  how  to  work  the  metal,  and  that  the  circum- 
stantial evidence  is  in  favor  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 

To  notice  all  the  points  of  that  record  upon  which 
evidence  could  be  given  was  not  our  intention.  We 
have  chosen,  rather,  to  take  up  the  most  important 
propositions,  those  which  are  the  most  far-reaching, 
and  show  that  archaeology  bears  eloquent  testimony 
confirming  these.  In  doing  this,  another  object  is 
accomplished.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  these  claims 
are  worthy  of  belief  it  inspires  confidence  in  the 
others,  because  when  the  leading  claims  are  proven, 
strong  probability  is  established  for  those  connected 
with  them.  We  have  endeavored  to  point  out  to  the 
young  student  what  seems  to  us  to  be  the  fairest  and 
strongest  line  of  defense.  To  show  that  the  divinity 
of  the  record  does  not  depend  upon  having  evidence 
for  every  point  in  the  representation  of  the  people, 
but  that  the  test  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  lies  in 
whether,  so  far  as  evidence  has  been  found,  it  agrees 
with  that  record  on  corresponding  lines,  and  makes 
possible  and  reasonable  claims  for  which  direct  evi- 
dence has  not  been  found. 

An  important  thing  to  remember  in  all  our  search 
for  information  is  that  there  is  a  distinction  to  be 
made  between  theory  and  fact.  In  no  department  is 
this  caution  more  called  for  than  in  that  pertaining 
to  archaeology.  That  the  student  might  have  some 
sort  of  general  idea  of  all  connected  with  the  object 
of  our  discussion  we  have  referred  somewhat  to  the 
conclusions  of  writers,  but  we  have  not  chosen  the 
opinions,  only,  that  are  favorable  to  our  position,  nor 
have  we  sought  to  sustain  the  claims  of  the  Book  of 


212  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

Mormon  by  these.  It  has  been  a  feature  of  our  pur- 
pose to  show  how  contradictory  the  theories  are,  and 
we  have  constantly  tried  to  impress  upon  the  young 
student  the  wisdom  of  ascertaining,  of  knowing  facts 
for  himself,  and  the  right  he  has  of  making  his  own 
comparisons,  and  drawing  his  own  conclusions. 

If  the  evidences  of  archaeology  are  to  be  of  service 
to  us,  this  is  the  course  that  we  shall  have  to  take. 
Scientific  opinion  is  changing,  inventing  something 
new,  and  crossing  itself  all  the  time.  The  findings 
are  made  to  fit  this  or  that  professor's  notions.  The 
same  spirit  of  skepticism  that  has  sought  to  detract 
from  the  Bible  would  rob  the  Book  of  Mormon  of  the 
benefits  of  research  and  discovery.  As  in  the  case 
of  the  Bible  accounts,  the  history  of  which  the 
Book  of  Mormon  is  a  record,  has  been  so  largely 
directed  and  overruled  in  the  mysterious  ways  of  the 
Omnipotent  One,  that  the  wisdom  of  man,  failing  to 
comprehend  the  wisdom  of  God,  tries  to  evade  it,  and 
substitutes  the  ideas  of  worldly  savants,  instead.  It  is 
simply  an  extending  of  the  old  conflict  between 
learned  assumption  and  the  simplicity,  yet  wonderful- 
ness  of  truth. 

In  this  series  we  have  tried  to  show  that  the  tradi- 
tions, monuments,  and  relics  are  independent  of  any 
construction  that  may  be  placed  upon  them,  and 
that  scientific  theory  is  not  essential  to  the  value  of 
the  evidence;  that  it  speaks  for  itself.  It  matters 
not  what  the  wise  men  think  about  the  starting  point 
of  the  ancient  civilization  of  this  continent,  whether 
they  would  have  it  to  have  begun  in  California,  or 
somewhere  up  north  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.    The 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  213 

facts  are  that  the  oldest  ruins  are  found  in  Central 
America,  the  region  indicated  by  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon as  the  cradle  and  center  of  the  oldest  civiliza- 
tion in  America.  No  amount  of  speculation  will  make 
those  old  ruins  grow  less  ancient,  and  all  the  argu- 
ment that  can  be  produced  can  not  destroy  the  har- 
mony between  the  silent  testimony  of  those  witnesses 
and  the  assertions  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 

Science  may  be  able  to  throw  but  little  light  on 
the  matter,  but  all  the  same,  on  the  western  coast 
of  South  America  there  are  older  ruins  than  have 
been  found  elsewhere  in  that  division  which  speak 
for  another  ancient  center  from  which  the  Book  of 
Mormon  describes  a  second  civilization  to  have 
spread.  The  mounds,  or  pyramids  of  North  America 
say,  in  their  dumb  language,  "You  can  see  that  we 
were  built  by  a  distinct  people  from  the  South  Ameri- 
cans, because  you  do  not  find  constructions  like  us 
down  there."  It  has  been  flippantly  remarked  that 
the  monuments  of  American  antiquity  were  only 
the  product  of  the  Indian,  but  the  charge  is  put  to 
shame  by  the  simple  question,  Were  uncivilized  peo- 
ple ever  known  to  do  the  works  of  civilized  people? 
Popular  belief  may  deride  the  idea  that  Christ  visited 
any  other  people  than  those  in  Palestine,  but  it  is 
certain  that  the  cross  in  ancient  America  does  not 
contradict  the  Book  of  Mormon  when  it  says  that 
Christ  came  to  this  land.  Those  widespread  tradi- 
tions of  a  Culture -hero,  so  Christlike  in  his  character, 
do  not  contradict  the  Book  of  Mormon.  The  strange, 
stray  religious  practices  and  ideas  resembling  scrip- 
tural and  gospel  teachings,  which  were  found  among 


214  BOOK  OF    MORMON 

the  natives,  do  not  contradict  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
The  demand  of  the  hour  is  that  we  arm  ourselves 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  evidences  that  have  been 
coming  to  light,  for  we  are  helpless  to  meet  scientific 
objections  that  skepticism  may  present  to  us,  if  we 
are  not  thus  prepared.  Having  armed  ourselves,  we 
need  to  know  how  to  use  our  weapons  most  effec- 
tively. To  court  prestige  by  holding  up  influential 
opinion  that  happens  to  favor  the  claims  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon — to  make  such  matter  principal,  instead 
of  incidental,  is  to  invite  humiliation,  because  the 
opposing  side  can  bring  a  negative  declaration  for 
every  affirmative  one  that  we  can  produce.  "We 
repeat  what  we  have  said  before.  Let  us  become 
acquainted  with  the  original,  for  ourselves,  and  then 
let  us  use  the  evidence  independently,  upon  its  own 
merit.  "We  must  beware  of  efforts  that  strike  at  the 
very  basis  of  our  defense,  that  would  not  only  deny 
the  significance  of  the  evidence,  but  detract  from 
the  evidence,  itself.  For  example,  some  one  is  say- 
ing now  that  the  mounds,  or  earthworks,  do  not 
bespeak  more  ability  in  the  people  who  constructed 
them  than  the  Indian  displays.  It  is  easy  to  doubt, 
to  contradict,  though;  but  to  disprove  is  entirely 
another  thing.  Before  this  can  be  done,  something 
else  is  necessary.  It  will  have  to  be  shown  that  the 
host  of  witnesses  who  have  placed  themselves  on 
record  did  not  have  the  intelligence  to  make  proper 
observation,  and  that  they  were  lacking  of  veracity  in 
describing  for  us  what  they  saw.  It  is  apparent  how 
out  of  reason  such  an  idea  is,  how  improbable  that 
so  many  testimonies  could  be  proven  to  be  wrong. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  215 

In  conclusion,  we  know  not  what  revelations  the 
future  may  have  in  store,  what  light  it  may  throw 
on  the  Book  of  Mormon  if  the  regions  now  unex- 
plored are  delved  into ;  if  manuscripts  that  may  now 
be  forgotten  in  old  libraries  and  monasteries  are 
found,  and  if  the  hieroglyphics  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  that  have  so  long  kept  their  secrets, 
are  induced  to  speak  by  some  Champollion.  But  this 
we  know,  that  what  archaeology  has  done  for  the 
Book  of  Mormon  would  be  considered  a  great  triumph 
for  the  Bible,  if  the  testimony  had  concerned  some  of 
the  misty  historical  accounts  of  the  Old  Testament. 
When  it  is  considered  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  made 
its  advent  before  those  corroborating  disclosures 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  public,  it  makes  the 
claims  to  divinity  of  that  record  entitled  to  increased 
respect.  It  came  forth  proclaiming  new,  strange 
things,  and  proof  has  been  following  it. 


THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON  IN  THE   LITERATURE 
OF  THE  WORLD. 

[When  I  read  this  paper  at  the  General  Convention  of  the 
Religio  Society  at  Independence,  last  spring,  so  many  requested 
me  to  have  it  published,  that  to  conform  with  their  wishes,  I 
do  so.  Louise  Palfrey.] 

Carlyle  said  of  the  drama  of  Job  that  it  is  "one  of  the  grandest 
things  ever  written  with  a  pen."  Poets  of  all  succeeding  ages 
have  drawn  inspiration  from  the  Psalms.  Baron  Humboldt 
exclaimed  of  the  fortieth  Psalm,  "We  are  astonished  to  find  in  a 
lyrical  poem  of  such  a  limited  compass  the  whole  universe — the 
heavens  and  the  earth— sketched  with  a  few  bold  touches."  The 
depths  of  sorrow,  the  soarings  of  joy,  the  swelling  of  sublime 
feeling  all  find  their  language  in  the  Bible.  That  great  orator, 
Daniel  Webster,  is  recorded  to  have  said,  "If  there  be  anything 
in  my  style  or  thoughts  to  be  commended,  the  credit  is  due  to 
my  kind  parents  in  instilling  into  my  mind  an  early  love  of  the 
Scriptures."  It  is  reported  of  Hall  Caine  that  all  his  characters 
are  derived  from  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  The  greatest 
writers  and  speakers  have  taken  the  Bible  as  a  model.  Youth- 
ful aspirants  for  honors  in  literature  or  on  the  rostrum  are 
always  advised  to  study  the  Bible  for  insight  into  life  and 
human  nature;  for  wealth  of  words,  loftiness  of  conception, 
perspicuity,  variety,  and  native  grandeur  and  beauty  of  expres- 
sion. Sir  William  Jones  says  that  the  Scriptures  contain,  inde- 
pendently of  its  divine  origin,  more  sublimity,  and  finer  strains, 
"both  of  poetry  and  eloquence,  than  could  be  collected  within 
the  same  compass  from  all  other  books  that  were  ever  com- 
posed in  any  age  or  in  any  idiom,"  while  Kitto  declares  that 
"no  production  whatever  has  any  pretensions  to  rival  it  in  dig- 
nity of  composition."  Take  away  from,  or  deny  its  inspiration, 
and  still  the  Bible  would  hold  a  place  of  its  own  in  the  first 
ranks  of  literature. 

But  these  are  not  the  strongest  claims  of  the  Bible  to  the  posi- 
tion it  occupies  in  the  literature  of  the  world.  It  has  a  far  more 
important,  more  essential  value.     The  Bible  is  the  greatest 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  217 

gfuide-book  to  the  antiquity  of  man.  It  is  the  oldest  history  in 
the  world,  written  some  eight  hundred  years  before  the  writings 
of  the  oldest  book  of  which  we  have  any  authentic  knowledge. 
Some  one  has  said,  '*What  should  we  know  of  the  history  of  the 
world,  and  its  nations,  for  three  thousand  years,  if  all  that  has 
been  derived  exclusively  from  the  Bible  were  obliterated  from 
all  memories  and  all  books?  Where  should  we  go  for  knowledge 
of  all  that  immense  extent  of  time — one  half  of  the  age  of  the 
world?"  The  past  would  indeed  be  shrouded  in  darkness  and 
mystery  to  us.  The  ruins  of  Egypt  and  Babylon  and  Assyria 
would  but  be  revealed  to  mutely  mock  us.  We  should  be 
launched  upon  this  scene  of  action  knowing  not  when  or  how 
our  species  originated,  nor  what  the  progress  of  man  had  been 
before  the  dawn  of  secular  history.  The  antiquarian  might  dig, 
and  the  scientist  might  speculate,  but  without  this  great  inter- 
preter to  throw  light  upon  those  ancient  relics,  how  much  wiser 
would  their  discovery  make  us  than  to  increase  our  bewilder- 
ment and  confusion?  Doctor  Macllvaine  drew  a  vivid  picture  of 
what  our  condition  would  have  been  without  the  Bible  when  he 
said,  "Just  as  we  now  wander  among  the  mysterious  remains  of 
the  race  which  once  possessed  all  this  land  (North  and  South 
America),  and  are  deeply  impressed  with  the  evidence  that  we 
are  constantly  walking  over  the  graves  of  an  immense  popula- 
tion, and  pained  with  a  sense  of  utter  darkness  as  to  everything 
connected  with  them,  except  that  they  bequeathed  to  posterity 
those  existing  and  confounding  traces  of  their  existence;  so  pre- 
cisely should  we  be  situated,  with  regard  to  all  the  human  race, 
and  all  the  mightiest  changes  in  the  surface  of  the  globe,  were 
we  .  .  .  destitute  of  all  that  history  for  which  we  are  exclusively 
indebted  to  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures."  I  have  referred  to 
the  Bible  to  illustrate,  and  show  the  need  for  another  book,  the 
book  my  subjuct  assigns  to  me  to  speak  upon. 

Two  summers  ago,  I  chanced  to  be  walking,  one  evening,  just 
behind  several  persons  who  were  discussing  this  very  book,  and 
I  could  not  help  hearing  their  remarks.  One  lady  in  the  party 
said,  "But  I  should  like  to  know  what  is  the  use  of  this  Book  of 
Mormon.  Why  do  we  need  it?"  Perhaps  that  is  a  question 
that  is  asked  oftener  than  any  other  in  connection  with  this  sub- 


218  BOOK  OP  MORMON 

ject.  A  book  making  the  pretensions  the  Book  of  Mormon  does, 
should  have  a  merit  distinct  from  its  inspirational  claims,  be 
defensible  from  other  points  than  that  of  faith,  and  it  is  my  duty 
to  show  whether,  independently  of  its  claims  to  be  divine,  the 
book  is  needed  in  the  literature  of  the  world;  whether  it  fills  a 
vacancy  and  want  in  history  and  science. 

You  noticed,  in  the  remarks  of  the  writer  whom  I  quoted,  he 
spoke  of  the  "mysterious  remains  of  the  race  which  once  pos- 
sessed all  this  land,'*  and  said  that  we  are  "constantly  walking 
over  the  graves  of  an  immense  population."  While  it  is  a  sub- 
ject with  which  the  public  is  not  much  acquainted,  it  is  an  estab- 
lished fact,  however,  that  long  before  our  era  there  existed  on 
this  continent  a  vast  population  and  a  wide  spreading  civiliza- 
tion. There  are  not  more  ruins  to  speak  for  the  ancient  civiliza- 
tion of  the  East  than  are  here  to  proclaim  that  America  has  had 
an  ancient  civilization.  Indeed,  some  of  our  scientists  to-day 
are  declaring  that  there  are  no  other  fields  in  the  world  richer,  if 
so  rich  for  archaeological  and  ethnological  investigation  as  our 
own  land  affords.  Yet  I  am  aware  that  there  are  frivolous 
writers  who  convey  a  very  inadequate,  or  altogether  inaccurate 
idea  on  this  subject.  I  had  occasion,  not  long  ago,  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  unreliability  of  statements  along  this  line  in  one  of 
the  historical  text-books  used  in  our  public  schools,  at  home, 
and  show  that  the  author  had  evidently  not  sought  to  make  him- 
self acquainted  with  the  works  of  authorities  on  the  subject. 
But  when  we  consider  the  careful  preparation  made  by  such  his- 
torians as  Ridpath,  for  instance,  who  was  engaged  for  ten  years 
in  only  getting  the  material  ready  for  one  of  his  works,  we  may 
not  expect  much  of  those  productions  that  come  into  existence 
like  mushrooms. 

When  Prescott  described  the  Aztec  and  the  Inca  civilizations, 
the  accounts  were  so  wonderful  to  a  world  accustomed  to  believ- 
ing that  all  antiquity  was  confined  to  the  East,  that  the  stories 
were  doubted.  But  in  the  light  of  subsequent  investigation  and 
exploration  it  has  been  proven  that  Prescott  wrote,  not  fiction, 
but  truth.  Some  years  ago  a  prominent  English  ethnologist 
and  a  well-known  collector  of  old  relics  made  a  trip  through 
Mexico.     After  they  had  seen  the  antiquities  of  the  country  Mr. 


AND  ARCHEOLOGY.  219 

Tylor  and  Mr.  Christy  gave  out  this  report:  "When  we  left 
England  we  both  doubted  the  accounts  of  the  historians  of  the 
Conquest,  believing  that  they  had  exaggerated  the  numbers  of 
the  population,  and  the  size  of  the  cities.  .  .  .  But  an  examina- 
tion of  Mexican  remains  soon  induced  us  to  withdraw  this  accu- 
sation, and  even  made  us  inclined  to  blame  the  chroniclers  for 
having  had  no  eyes  for  the  wonderful  things  that  surrounded 
them."  And  yet,  those  civilizations  of  Mexico,  Central  America, 
and  Peru,  of  which  the  Conquerors  gave  such  startling  accounts, 
are  admitted  to  have  been  but  shadows  of  the  civilization  that 
preceded  them.  We  are  told  that  all  they  had  that  was  best  they 
derived  from  the  grander  eras  of  progress  before  them,  whose 
light  they  but  imperfectly  reflected. 

Who  were  the  Actecs  and  the  Incas?  Prom  whom  descended 
the  Mayas,  and  who  was  that  greater  people  before  them,  that 
had  vanished  long  before  the  Discoverers  came,  of  whom  the 
Mexicans,  the  Central  Americans  and  the  Peruvians  preserved 
only  misty  traditions  of  glorious  memories?  Who  were  the 
Cliff-Dwellers  of  the  West,  whose  ruins  are  receiving  so  much 
attention  of  archaeologists  at  present,  and  who  were  the  Mound 
Builders?  We  have  with  us,  scattered  in  various  quarters  of  our 
land,  thousands  of  living  representatives  of  the  past — the  Indian 
— who  is  he,  from  where,  and  when  did  he  come?  Ah,  when  we 
get  to  this  point,  the  scientists  and  the  scholar  can  tell  us  noth- 
ing. They  concede  that  it  is  all  a  dense  mystery  to  them.  They 
point  out  to  us  the  evidences  that  bespeak  a  populous  people  and 
an  enlightened  civilization  in  the  ancient  past;  they  teU  us  of 
the  magnificant  ruins  of  Palenque  and  Uxmal  and  Mitla  and 
dozens  of  other  crumbling,  moss-grown  cities  in  Mexico  and  Cen- 
tral America— two  famous  travelers  found  sixty  down  there.  We 
are  referred  to  the  wonderful  ruins  that  cluster  around  old  sites 
in  South  America;  to  the  strange,  deserted  habitations  hidden 
in  the  mountain  perches  of  our  West;  to  the  mounds  and  earth- 
works scattered  over  the  extent  of  the  United  States.  Science 
conducts  us  to  these  silent  monuments,  but  as  Professor  Edward 
Fulmer,  of  Chicago,  admits,  "Whence  came  the  builders  and 
occupants,  and  how,  when,  and  whither  the  mysterious  race  dis- 
appeared, are  pTotrlems  that  have  so  far  baffled  scfentiffts,"    It  is 


220  •     BOOK  OP   MORMON 

to  this  state  of  things  that  Dr.  Macllyaine  refers  to  illustrate 
what  our  general  ignorance  of  the  early  history  of  man  would  be 
without  the  Bible,  leaving  it  to  be  seen  that  what  the  Old  Test- 
ament has  done  for  our  knowledge  of  the  race  in  the  Eastern 
World,  was  yet  to  be  done  that  we  might  know  something  con- 
cerning man's  history  in  this  Western  World. 

Some  years  ago  I  met  a  gentleman  eminent  in  professional  cir- 
cles, and  of  considerable  repute  as  a  writer  and  lecturer.  He 
prided  himself  upon  being  broad-minded  and  fair.  In  the  course 
of  our  conversation  we  drifted  upon  religious  topics,  and  he  made 
inquiry  about  the  Book  of  Mormon.  "Doctor,"  said  I,  "you  are 
no  doubt  aware  that  this  land  of  ours  has  a  history  that  reaches 
farther  back  than  modem  times?"  He  was,  of  course.  "Then," 
I  resumed,  "when  you  consider  that  the  vast  expanse  of  North 
and  South  America  once  teemed  with  a  people  who  evidently 
were  as  capable  of  comprehending  the  principles  of  higher  life 
as  the  civilized  nations  of  their  brethern  in  the  other  hemisphere, 
do  you  think  it  would  be  an  impartial  God  that  would  favor  one 
people  and  withhold  the  same  opportunities  from  another? 
Would  not  the  infidel  have  good  excuse  to  fling  back  to  us  the 
claim  that  the  mission  of  Christ  extended  to  all  mankind  if  he 
could  point  to  nations  that  had  been  bom  and  died  without  ever 
having  had  a  witness  of  a  Savior?"  The  doctor  admitted  that 
the  argument  was  a  reasonable  one. 

The  progress  of  man  has  been  so  dependent  upon  his  knowl- 
edge of  his  Creator,  so  interlinked  with  it,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
know  much  about  one,  without  understanding  something  of  the 
other.  The  Bible  was  not  given  to  us  for  the  purpose  of  history, 
primarily,  but  for  a  record  that  men  might  see  and  profit  by  the 
examples  of  God's  goodness  towards  his  creatures,  and  the  his- 
torical part  was  strung  on  the  story  of  salvation  that  has  been 
running  through  the  ages.  Men  conceive  that  the  vital  part  of 
the  book  is  its  message  to  the  soul,  and  yet  when  a  stick  or  a 
stone  is  found  bearing  out  the  historic  assertions  the  news  is 
quickly  heralded  abroad,  and  a  thrill  goes  through  the  Christian 
world  because  it  is  another  evidence  that  the  book  is  true.  The 
Book  of  Mormon  was  presented  to  the  world  claiming  to  be  the 
testimony  of  the  people  of  another  hemisphere  that  Jesus  is  the 


AND  ARCILEOLOGY.  221 

Christ;  it  gives  an  account  of  God's  dealings  with  the  humanity 
that  anciently  dwelt  upon  this  continent,  and,  incidentally,  a 
history  of  the  people,  affording  man  a  fuller  knowledge  of  his 
race.  That  there  is  need  for  such  a  book,  and  that  there  was  a 
place  in  literature  waiting  for  it,  science  indirectly  acknowledges. 
The  question  can  not  be,  surely,  is  such  a  book  superfluous;  is 
our  knowledge  complete  without  it,  but,  is  the  Book  of  Mormon 
the  book  to  meet  the  demand,  as  it  claims  to  be? 

Sixty  years  ago,  when  the  Book  of  Mormon  came  forth,  the 
fact  of  an  ancient  American  civilization,  now  so  well  estab- 
lished, was  then  unknown.  The  book  was  denounced  as  a  fraud 
for  asserting  a  thing  of  which  science  had  not  dreamed. 
"Absurd!*'  the  world  cried.  It  was  ten  or  fifteen  years  after- 
wards that  Prescott  made  his  researches,  and  when  his  histories 
of  Mexico  and  Peru  came  out,  as  I  have  mentioned  before,  they 
were  believed  to  be  largely  imaginative.  But  how  things  have 
changed  since  then  I  It  has  been  said  that  thirst  for  knowledge 
dominates  the  age.  The  scientific  spirit  permeates  everywhere. 
Man  digs  and  delves  to  know  more.  Investigation  is  busy,  and 
in  the  light  of  astonishing  discoveries  that  recent  years  have 
piled  up,  the  scholar  of  Europe  no  longer  says  to  the  citizen  of 
America,  "You  have  no  antiquities."  "America! *»  exclaims 
one  writer,  '*a.  land  thought  to  be  so  new,  which  is  indeed  so 
old."  "These  ruins  of  surpassing  grandeur,"  cries  the  French 
explorer,  Charnay,  speaking  of  the  monuments  of  Central 
America;  "I  seem  to  myself  to  be  carried  back  a  thousand  years 
amidst  that  grand  old  race  whose  ruins  I  am  here  to  study." 
The  Book  of  Mormon  asserts  that  the  center  of  the  older  civiliza- 
tion was  in  Central  America;  that  great  cities  were  built  there. 
Last  summer  a  western  college  professor  returning  from  his  vaca- 
tion with  an  exploring  party  in  Central  American  regions  made 
the  statement  in  a  western  journal  that  it  was  remarkable  how 
the  ruined  cities  he  saw  fitted  the  Book  of  Mormon.  Within  the 
past  year  discoveries  in  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  Arizona,  Wis- 
consin, Texas,  and  Old  Mexico  have  contributed  added  testi- 
mony. 

Truth  does  not  seek  the  protection  of  popularity.  It  seldom 
waits  until  the  world  is  ready  to  welcome  it.    It  leads  the  world. 


222  BOOK  OP    MORMON 

is  ahead  of  its  time,  and  waits  for  developments  to  prove  it. 
The  Book  of  Mormon  came  forth  to  the  world  in  the  face  of  ridi- 
cule and  opposition  which  it  had  to  meet  because  it  was  at  vari- 
ance with  commonly  accepted  ideas.  It  declared  things  that 
were  as  yet  hidden  from  the  wise  men ;  secrets  that  science  had 
not  yet  found  out.  Would  anything  but  inspiration  have  dared 
to  place  itself  at  such  a  risk,  subjected  itself  to  such  a  trial? 
Would  any  book  but  one  of  which  God  was  the  author  have  thus 
exposed  itself  to  attack,  and  placed  itself  in  a  position  where 
future  researches  might  award  it  glorious  vindication,  or  con- 
demn it  to  ignominious  defeat?  The  wise  Gamaliel  spoke 
an  immutable  principle  when  he  said,  "if  this  work  be  of  men, 
it  will  come  to  naught;  but  if  it  be  of  God,  ye  can  not  overthrow 
it."  Through  the  storms  of  criticism  and  skepticism  that  have 
beat  upon  it,  the  Book  of  Mormon  has  stood  firm.  The  results 
of  investigation  have  shown  old  ideas  to  be  wrong,  but  have 
corroborated  the  statements  of  this  book,  and  have  been  building 
a  solid  fortress  around  it.  Each  new  find  only  strengthens  the 
defense,  and  the  accumulating  evidence,  of  research,  exploration, 
and  discovery  are  proclaiming  in  louder  tones  the  essentiality 
and  integrity  of  this  message  to  men  in  the  latter  days. 
April,  1901. 


INDEX. 


Art.— Embroidery,  39;  mosaic, 
109-111;  painting,  106,  111; 
relics,  105-111;  sculpture, 
103,  106,  107,  HI. 

Aztecs,  21,  30-56;  civilization 
inherited,  35,  36;  govern- 
ment, 36;  incongruity  of 
character,  45,  54-56;  social 
life,  36-38. 

Agriculture,  38,  39,  65, 66, 185; 
granaries,  39;  irrigation,  39, 
65,  66:  nurseries,  39. 

Books,  24,  62,  63. 

Bible  and  Book  of  Mormon 
compared,  9-11;  216-222. 

Barber  shops,  40. 

Building  andArtsConnected. — 
Architecture,  68, 99,  105-110, 
186;  cement,  42,  106,  204; 
decoration,  105,  109;  great 
buildings,  40,  42,  102;  ma- 
sonry, 40,  41,  68,  105,  108, 
203,  204;  mosaic,  109-111; 
mortar,  41,  108;  plastering, 
41,  103;  stucco,  103. 

Civilization,  defined,  1-8. 

Civilization,  Ancient  Ameri- 
can.—Regions,  17,  18;  dif- 
ferent periods,  83-89,  93, 
107-110,  209;  character  of 
ruins,  showing  different 
degrees  and  periods  of  civi- 
lization, 84,  94,  99,  100,  104, 
105,  107-110,  169;  different 
races  and  peoples,  32-34,  35; 
older  civilization  than  Az- 
tecs, Mayas,  and  Incas,  30, 
81,  59,  181,  182,  209;  oldest 
civilizations  highest,  29-31, 
85,  36,  56,  80-83,  99-103; 
regions,  84,   82,   89-91>   99, 


186;  seat  of  oldest  civiliza- 
tion, 89;  seat  of  second  civi- 
lization, 90,  91,  99;  Indians 
not  authors,  209;  founders, 
173-177;  origin,  19,  20, 
77-79,  103,  117-122,  209, 
154-178,  186-192,  195,  196; 
cause  of  downfall,  209. 

Chichimecs,  21,  22,  32,  35,  126. 

Changes  affecting  ruins,  94-99. 

Course  of  nation,  161-173. 

Children  loved,  38. 

Charitable  institutions,  38. 

Cliff-dwellers,  197-215;  char- 
acter of  ruins,  205;  hidden 
chambers,  202;  origin, 
205-208. 

Date  of  archaeological  works, 
IS. 

Density  of  population,  17,  18, 
42,  102,  186. 

Difference  between  theory  and 
fact,  211-214. 

Estimates  of  ancient  civiliza- 
tion, 106,  114-116. 

Founders  of  ancient  nation, 
173-177. 

Gem  cutting,  68. 

Gran-Chimu  ruins,  "every 
concomitant  of  civilization 
found,"  102. 

Great  Works.— Aqueducts,  40, 
70;  causeways,  40;  canals, 
39;  dike,  41;  irrigation,  39; 
roads,  70;  bridges,  70,  71; 
lifting  great  weights  100. 

Human  sacrifice,  52-55. 

Indians,  not  authors  of  an- 
cient civilization,  209. 

Inscriptions,  106. 

Iron,  112, 113. 


INDEX. 


225 


Ineas,  21,  80,  31,  56-97;  civili- 
zation inherited,  56;  Inca 
character.  58,  77-79;  incon- 

?Tuity,  74-77;  social  polity, 
2-77;  origin,  72,  79,  103. 
Judging  the  unknown  by  the 

known,  209,  210. 
Locality  of  ruins,  17-19,  93,  94, 

99,  104,  197. 
Language,  87,  115. 
Literary.— Books,     literature, 

24,  43, 62, 63;  writing,  24, 61, 

62,63;  inscriptions,  106. 

Mayas,  21,  30,  31,  87. 

Military  works,  fortresses,  etc., 
42,  70,  99,  181. 

Municipal  edifices,  102. 

Mexico,  grandeur  of,  41-43. 

Market,  40. 

Mound -builders,  179-196; 

mounds,  178-180;  found  only 
in  North  America,  188,  199; 
city  sites,  186;  relationship 
of  mound-building  peoples, 
189-192;  origin,  186-192, 195, 
196;  age,  192-196. 

Metals. — Bronze,  39;  lead  39, 
67;  silver,  39,  67;  gold,  67; 
tin,  39, 67;  copper,  67;  quick- 
silver, 67;  smelting-fur- 
naces,  67,  68,  102;  metal  al- 
most as  hard  as  steel,  68; 
mines,  39;  copper  mines,  184; 
mica,  184;  salt  mines,  184; 
flint  mines,  184;  iron,  112, 
113. 

Manufactories,  38,  39,  67,  68, 
183;  cloth,  39,  66,  67,  183; 
coloring,  39;  feather  work, 
39;  pottery,  vases,  39,  111, 
183,  204;  thread,  39;  wonder- 
ful cloth,  66,  67;  dyeing,  66, 
67;  tools,  183;  ornaments, 
67,  68,  183;  needles,  183; 
baked  bricks,  108;  filters, 
108;  water  pipes,  108;  seals, 
108;  water  tank,  102. 


Origin  of  Ancient  Americans, 
19,  20,  77-79,  154-178,  186- 
192,  195, 196;  eastern  origin, 
157-159,  166:  white  ances- 
tors, 79,  103,  117-122,  209; 
scientific  theory  of  origin, 
154r-156. 

Pyramid,  not  found  in  South 
America,  169. 

Police,  42. 

Posts,  71. 

Prisons,  102. 

Polygamy,  discouraged  by  pre- 
cepts, 37,  38. 

Regions,  explored,  16;  unex- 
plored, 15-17. 

Relationship  between  archae- 
ology and  Book  of  Mormon, 
11,  12,  217-222. 

Roads,  103. 

Resemblances  between  Incaa 
and  Aztecs  and  Mayas,  99, 
171-173. 

Religion,  59-61,  45-52;  tradi- 
tions qf  creation,  46,  47; 
deluge,  46,  47,  60;  Tower  of 
Babel,  137;  evidences  of  an- 
cient worship  of  true  God, 
60,  101,  130,  134,  135,  136; 
Sabbath,  60, 61 ;  resurrection 
and  future  life,  60, 137;  re- 
ward of  good,  punishment 
of  evil,  60;  Quetzalcoatl  or 
Culture-hero  (Christ-char- 
acter). 47,  61,  138-145,  149- 
153,  209;  Cross,  47,  106,  145- 
150;  baptism  and  Christian 
communion,  48,  138;  Chris- 
tian resemblances  in  teach- 
ing and  practices,  48-52; 
Christian  form  of  prayer, 
136;  knowledge  of  scripture, 
137;  religion  of  the  Toltecs, 
133,  134;  idolatry  belonging 
to  later  periods,  100,  104; 
Quetzalcoatl  opi)osed  to 
idolatry,  ISO;  begrinning  of 


INDEX. 


of  human  sacrifice,  133; 
Aztec  teachings  regarding 
polygamy,  37,  38;  priest- 
hood, 128. 

Savagery,  defined,  1-8. 

Sources  of  archaeological 
knowledge,  22-27,   123. 

Ships,  156,  160. 

Sailboat,  71. 

Storehouses,  71. 

Shops,  102. 

Slavery  in  modified  form,  36, 
37. 

Skilled  workmanship,  41,  99, 
100,  105,  107-110,  112,  199, 
200,  203. 

Smithery,  39,  67. 

Science. — Mexican  calendar, 
44;  Davenport  tablet,  185; 
astronomy,  64,  185;  tele- 
scope, 64,   186. 

Schools,  43,  63,  64. 

Time  estimates,  94. 

Time  of  oldest  civilization, 
192-196. 

Taverns,  71. 

Tula,  a  whole  civilization,  109. 


Toltecs,  21,  34,  35,  81. 

Traditions. — Origin  of  man, 
123;  flood,  137;  tower  of 
Babel,  124;  wanderings, 
125-166;  enemies,  125,  126; 
Tutul  Xius,  126;  Culture 
Hero,  127;  terrible  phe- 
nomena of  nature,  128,  129; 
book  of  God,  129;  causes  of 
national  downfall,  130,  131, 
132;  nationalstory,  131, 132; 
seven  families,  158;  four 
leaders,  158,  175,  176;  jeal- 
ousy towards  youngest 
brother,  175,  176;  youngest 
brother  leader,  176,  177 
eastern  origin,  157-159,  166 
both  coasts  visited,  160 
Quinames,  169;  Maya  nation 
symbolized  by  tree  and 
snake,  170. 

Traditions  do  not  refer  to  the 
first  civilization,  92,  161-164 

Wealth,  68,  69,  102. 

Women  respected,  37,  38. 

Writing,  24,  61-63. 


